When a door closed, Annai Sathya home in Nagapattinam opened a window for 'Tsunami children'
NAGAPATTINAM: On one night, memories of that Boxing Day morning again ambushed V Tamilarasi. Her father had been out at sea, fishing, and her mother had gone out to collect fish from the boats. Then 15, Tamilarasi was at home in Tharangambadi with her sisters and younger brother when the waves appeared. When they receded, the security of having parents had ended.
Like them, hundreds were orphaned by the giant waves. The media glibly dubbed them “Tsunami children”. Realising the urgent need to rehabilitate them, the then Tamil Nadu government, despite a considerable fund crunch, established the Annai Sathya Government Children’s Home in erstwhile Nagapattinam district, the worst affected in the state. Then Nagapattinam Collector Dr J Radhakrishnan, currently an additional chief secretary to the government, oversaw the admissions.
The home began in a temporary building in Akkaraipettai with around a hundred children rescued from the ruins. Most of them had lost a parent. The children like Tamilarasi, old enough to understand what they had lost, were the most distraught in the days that followed. One child would break down and the others would follow suit; there seemed no end to the mourning.
In the years since, the teachers and non-teaching staff at the home along with employees from the Social Welfare Department patiently saw the children through their grief, showed them how to overcome their loss and guided them on how to make their own way in the world. One by one, each child moved out on becoming an adult. But, Tamilarasi still remains at the Annai Sathya home.
With help of Radhakrishnan and other sponsors, she completed school and attained BSc (IT) and MCA degrees. After working as an administrator in an IT company for a few years, she returned to the home -- this time as a teacher. The home, now located at Samanthanpettai near Nagapattinam, takes in victims of abuse and child marriage. She trains these children in computer skills, tailoring and crafts. “When everything was lost, this place accommodated me and helped me study. This is my way of giving back,” she said.
Former District Social Welfare Officer S Suriyakala who worked tirelessly for the home and children’s care in the crucial two years after the disaster, passed away at the age of 63 in 2018. “My mother toiled to manage the home. She ensured safe and legal foster care for the children, managed the flow of donations and oversaw construction of the permanent building,” M Manoj Kumar (37), an advocate, recalled.
All the children, who reached the home in the wake of the tsunami, have fared well in life. P Vinotha (29) from Kuttiyandiyur and her three sisters reached the home after the waves claimed her father’s life. After completing her MCom and MPhil, she landed a job as a computer operator in the panchayat union office. Her younger sister Pavithra was just five years old when the doors of the home opened to her. She is now a BCom graduate working at a financial services company.
The youngest to reach the Annai Sathya Home two decades ago was a three-year-old girl rescued from a wreckage near Keechankuppam. The home christened her ‘Meena’. Six months later, some nuns from Velankanni brought a four-year-old child to the home. She received the name ‘Sowmya’. The two would become sisters for life.
In November 2018, when cyclone Gaja laid waste to Nagapattinam district, Radhakrishnan was appointed the monitoring officer for relief and rehabilitation. When he visited the Annai Sathya Home at the time, he was surprised to find Meena still there. “Why haven’t you left yet, my child,” he asked. Meena took a few moments to respond. “No one came for me, Appa.”
Radhakrishnan was overcome with emotion. He and his wife became her godparents. Sometime later, Manivannan, a marine products trader, and his wife Malarvizhi volunteered to care for Sowmya and Meena. Both aspire to be nurses and serve public.
Sowmya got married in 2022 and was later blessed with a baby girl. Radhakrishnan and his family celebrated this occasion. “The children of Annai Sathya Government Children’s Home are the spirit and resilience of Nagapattinam. Despite the tragedy and setbacks, they are motivated to make strides,” he said.