Tsunami Wives

Women were the most vulnerable survivors of the 2004 tsunami; they continue to live in conditions of total misery and exploitation, and discrimination. Women were at the wrong end of the skewed rehabilitation process since Government compensation and rehabilitation programs most often recognize men as the heads of households, which results in women - particularly single, older or disabled women - being left out of such efforts.

This prompted to put more focus on women in rehabilitation projects, and thus emerged Sea Dot, a sea-food processing unit under the supervision of 24 Tsunami-affected but determined women from Kasimedu (Chennai Coastal Area) in November 2006.

They are now the owners of the unit and undertake regular market analysis of the product - analyzing the production cost and comparing it to the market situation and have turned it into a successful enterprise.

All the women involved are from the fishing community prior to being part of this unit most of them were fish vendors, but after the Tsunami they could not continue with their business because most of them had lost their belongings and their rotation money with which to buy the fish, the fisheries college of Tamil Nadu State (south India) trained around 100 women affected by Tsunami on alternative livelihood related to sea products, out of which 24 most marginalised women were involved in setting up the unit.

The women took up independent charge of the unit in January 2008. Now the women are divided into four different committees i.e., purchasing, management, accounts and maintenance committee. Each committee has well defined tasks, apart from their regular work of production.