Hope at work

Local clergy return to site of Indian tsunami 10 years later

The Right Rev. Leo Michael described a typical day in the small coastal villages in southern India -- villages that were devasted by a tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004.

"Men would have been out fishing," he said. "Wives would be waiting for their husband's return to take the fish to market. Children would have been sleeping or playing along the seashore. Houses made of mud walls and thatched coconut-leaf roofs would be decimated."

Tsunami 2004

Still Wading Through Waves of Hope

By Holly Michael

AMDG Publishing

Buy the Book

•Amazon.com
•Facebook l Author Holly Michael

• City Pharmacy in Springdale, 701 S. Thompson St.

Support the Orphans

• Donate through the church: Corpus Christi Anglican Church, 1700 Prairie Creek Dr., Rogers 72762

Michael is a native of India and worked 20 years ago in the affected region. An earthquake near the Indonesian islands of Sumatra spawned the tsunami, which flooded the villages three times.

Michael and his Rogers church members quickly raised $70,000. Michael, his wife Holly and church member Vicky Sclafani traveled to the devastated area just 10 days after the tsunami hit to deliver the aid directly to those in need. Father Michael also offered counseling for victims.

The group worked through Catholic priests in the region and school masters and town leaders in villages.

"Send us to the most devastated remote villages, where no one else has gone," Father Michael told them. The Nagapattinam region reported a death toll of more than 6,000 -- of the 227,898 total count-- and had received little aid.

"We saw devastation that was really heart-wrenching," Father Michael said, showing a picture of a woman standing in front of a pile of rubble where her house once stood. Similar scenes lay all along the coastline.

"I have never seen that kind of devastation in my life," Holly Michael wrote. "How did they manage to live and sustain themselves? How did they manage to survive and eat?

The couple returned to Nagapattinam this fall -- at the 10-year anniversary of the tsunami -- to see the recovery affected by their local support. Holly Michael documented both trips in her new book, "Tsunami 2004: Still Wading Through Waves of Hope" (AMDG Publishing, January 2015), with publication timed to align with the anniversary.

"We weren't sure how to distribute the (money) the church raised until after he arrived," reads Holly Michael's book. "We saw the people were receiving rice and some limited provisions on a day-t0-day basis. The group decided it would be best to invest the money in the children who were orphaned by the giant wave, which is how most donors requested the money be used."

Working through local leaders, Michael and crew identified 250 children in several villages left orphaned by the waves. The money from Northwest Arkansas put 10,000 rupees (about $225 in 2005) in certificates of deposit for each individual child, payable when they turn 18.

"What did the children of the villages need the most?" Father Michael asked. "Hope, something for their future that can't be taken away."

The donations also bought boats, nets and engines for fisherman; desks, writing materials and furniture for schools; and a savings account to help an Indian businessman rebuild a company, employing 50 families.

"The goodness of people here really touched them," Holly Michael said. "You can see how far that money stretched."

A now-retired school master organized a reunion of the children for the Michaels' visit -- one pregnant woman traveled five hours on a bus just five days before a scheduled delivery, Holly said. The now young adults reported their money paid for marriage dowries, education for themselves or their children and starting new businesses.

Holly met again with Sharmila and shared the girl's story of terror in her book:

I was home alone (on the day of the tsunami), working on my science assignment, when I heard a lady crying about the water coming. I ran outside, and she shoved a child in my arms. "Run! As far and fast as you can!"

Holding tightly to the child, I ran, but within seconds, water roared at me. Two people floated past us, along with other rubbish. They banged against poles. Water surrounded us, but I held onto the child and climbed on top of a small house, watching the horrible scene.

A whole house left its foundation and floated away. Screaming shouts came from the seashore. The water came and receded three times.

My father returned, but a pole had cut through his thigh and slashed his eyes, too. He is blind. I lost my mom. I don't know how I will go on. She is my whole world.

At the reunion, Holly remembered Sharmila and rushed to hug her. Instead, she stopped and asked, "Do you remember me?"

(Sharmila) nodded, her eyes growing moist. I wanted you to be my mother that day. I rode 65 kilometers on a bus to meet you again.

(Life) was very difficult for a long time, but now I'm OK. I'm happy. I'm married and have a son. I am very grateful to God. He has given me a good life.

But the sadness continued for some survivors, and they told stories of their sisters' suicides. The culture in India leaves women dependent on male family members, Holly Michael explained. All marriages are arranged, but with few resources after the tsunami, girls' families were unable to pay proper dowries at their marriage -- especially if the males of the family were killed or simply abandoned their children. The new mother-in-laws tortured the young brides for not bringing enough to the family and led the ladies to suicide.

"The tsunami changed communities, physically, economically and socially," Holly Michael wrote. "Many of the fishermen, betrayed by the sea, abandoned their boats."

On their return trip to Nagapattinam, the Michaels saw retaining walls built to keep out the sea, but those same walls now prevent easy access for fisherman, Father Michael explained. Homeless families moved into government housing, called "tsunami houses," but they were built five miles inland, leaving people without transportation unable to access the sea, he added. Each is a concrete, three-room structure with a footprint of 900 square feet. "They look like dog kennels," he described. "People live there."

"We drove past Nagapattinam harbor, no longer strewn with busted boats, but not exactly pristine," Holly wrote of their return trip. "This was India -- a country lacking in infrastructure, decent garbage collection and animal control. Trash littered the roadside. At a corner, pigs, crows and goats feasted together on heaping piles of stinking garbage."

"We can't take things for granted -- not even life," Father Michael said. During the trip this fall, he contracted dengue fever when bitten by a mosquito. Without proper medical care, he nearly died, Holly Michael said. His recovery continues.

"I should have died," Father Michael said. "God's grace has blessed us. That's my life. That's what I'm committed to. I got bitten on a mission."

And their work continues. Holly Michael hopes to use her new book as a fundraiser to support many more kids. "India is still a Third World country," she said.

And the members of the local church continue their generosity, raising funds for continued support of orphans in India and many other types of disaster relief. A December dinner accompanying a presentation of their recent trip gathered funds.

"Through all this, you get to see the goodness of Americans," Father Michael said. "(Many countries) think we're bullies, but no matter where in the world disaster happens, we are called to give."

"One thing God has blessed us with is life," he continued. "For those of us here (in Northwest Arkansas), what a beautiful life."

NAN Religion on 01/17/2015

Upcoming Events