The Life of Food
July 2009
Banner photo: Oxheart tomatoes [© Creativ Studio Heinemann]
Post-tsunami Nutrition and Education Project in India
March 2009 marked the three-year point in a Bharat (India) Soka Gakkai (BSG) project to support children affected by the tsunami that struck the coast of India on December 26, 2004. Following the tsunami, BSG began looking for ways to address the nutrition and education-related needs of children living in Nagapattinam, one of the worst-hit areas in Tamil Nadu. In 2005, the BSG Trust signed an agreement with the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and donated a grant of 3,380,450 rupees (US$ 72,000) for a project to support affected children implemented by the Chennai-based NGO Guild of Service (Central).
A survey to identify the most vulnerable children found that while those who were orphaned by the disaster were already receiving support from the government, many of those who had lost one parent were in serious need of assistance. Often the children had been taken out of school to work.
Every second month, a mini-truck brings food packages for children in four villages of Nagapattinam [BSG]
Four villages were selected for the project, and 47 children were enrolled, all first-generation learners. Each child receives food for his or her family and further annual funds to cover school fees, uniforms and supplies. The food packages were designed in consultation between an MSSRF nutrition specialist and village elders.
Usually the school dropout rate increases after a disaster, but the BSG project has helped ensure that children, especially girls, stay in school. The project's success is exemplified by the experience of Saraswathi, aged 16, who lives in Thiruvengedu. On the day of the tsunami, her brother saved her from drowning. "I like school because I have lots of friends there," she says. "Calamities will come, we need to be courageous in life. I want to finish school and become the best nurse in the district."
