Source

DEVANAMPATTINAM, SOUTH INDIA, April 5, 2005: Project Hope — the name of the tsunami relief organization formed by Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (President of Parmarth Niketan Rishikesh and Chairman of India Heritage Research Foundation) and the famous actor Vivek Oberoi — has been working continuously for tsunami relief in South India. Please see “source” for details of work.



There have been several new developments in the work progress, according to this press release:



On April 2, in village Devanampattinam (distt. Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu), we distributed hundreds of nets to all the fishermen in the village as well as repaired boats to those whose boats were damaged in the tsunami. We have also given new boats to some of those whose boats were completely ruined. There was a beautiful ceremonial pushing of the boats back into the sea by Pujya Swamiji, Vivek Oberoi and the District Collector of Cuddalore, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, symbolizing the glorious return to life and livelihood for the fishermen of the village of Devanampattinam.



Project Hope has adopted a dilapidated and run-down service center in Cuddalore in which 200 impoverished girls/ladies live. They have no proper dining facilities (they sleep, eat and study in the same hall) and all other facilities are sparse or worse. We are building a full dining hall, a computer center, a typing center, a vocational training center and other facilities for the girls/ladies in the social service center, as well as renovating and repairing the existing women’s service center. On the adjacent land we are building an orphanage for children orphaned by the tsunami. The first brick was laid by the youngest orphan girl and Pujya Swamiji, the Hon. Lt. Governor of Pondicherry Lt. Gen. M.M. Lakhera and the District Collector of Cuddalore.



On April 2, we also travelled to Pattancheri village of Karaikkal, Pondicherry Union Territory where we will build a full new village, as their village was completely devastated by the tsunami. The bhoomi puja (ground breaking ceremony) for that was performed on the March 22 by the hands of the Hon. Lt. Governor of Pondicherry Lt. General M.M. Lakhera and the Hon. Chief Secretary of Pondicherry, Shri C.S. Khairwal with Pujya Swamiji and Vivek Oberoi. On April 2 we traveled there to distribute sewing machines for a new vocational training institute. We also distributed bags of relief supplies to hundreds of villagers.

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