Poompuhar is a village of 500+ families. Prior to Tsunami all the families in Poompuhar lived dispersed across the beaches of Poompuhar village. When the Tsunami came, it swept away the houses of nearly 500 Families. United Way met with the residents of Poompuhar village in early 2005 whilst we were evaluating which villages to distribute our boats to.
At that point we met with one of the young 20 year old girls called Raaji who today works with our NGO Partner Sevai, was at home that fateful Sunday morning when she heard people screaming the waves are coming
the waves are coming.
The village had over 100 dead, and Raaji was witness to a mass burial. Post the Tsunami Raaji refuses to live in the village and has now joined United Way Partner NGO. Just hearing her speak about those days makes ones stomach churn and at the same time one is grateful to AIG who came in with a donation to help build 100 of the 500 homes for the villagers at Poompuhar. |
