Charity from California shelters Tsunami victims in TN

Chennai, Jul 5 (UNI) The Monterey County in the American state of California and the fishing hamlet of Pudupattinam near Kalpakkam on city outskirts may be thousands of miles apart, but humanity and spirit of brotherhood have brought them closer.

When 2004 killer tsunami wrought havoc on Tamil Nadu coast, people from all walks of life in the Monterey County came together to rebuild the lives of affected fishermen.

Under the auspices of Global Uplift, a US-based non-profit organisation, relief works including setting up of temporary shelters for 162 families, medical unit, police outpost, fire and rescue service shelters and schools, were undertaken at worst-affected Akkaraipettai village in Nagapattinam.

On behalf of Monterey County, the Global Outfit had now completed construction of 52 permanent row houses for affected fishermen in a sprawling area of 1.5 acre at Pudupattinam at a cost of Rs one crore. The locality had been rightly named as the 'New Monterey Colony.' Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala handed over the houses to allotees yesterday in the presence of a few American donors who had specially flew down for the occasion, carrying the good wishes of the residents of Monterey County. Stating that the County residents' response to the calamity was swift and outpouring, Global Oplift President P K Shah said the common man in America, without asking, donated his time and money.

''This is a unique project as it has been implemented with the contributions of the common man in the US for the uplift of the common man in India. There were people who donated even five or ten US dollars from their meagre income,'' he said.

Mr Louie Cosentino, a US donor, said the IT revolution and technological breakthrough have shrunk national boundaries. ''We now live in a small global village and when a diaster strikes in any part of the world it affects all of us,'' he said.

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