By Stefan Teplan, Chennai (Caritas News) — Caritas’ media officers from eight nations toured tsunami affected areas of southern India, seeing how funds collected from their nations give life and shelter to shattered people.
Media officers, journalists and photographers from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel and Scotland participated in the Oct. 27-31 joint exposure program. Caritas-International communicators Stefan Teplan and Martin Zoller and Caritas India communicators Ray Kancharla and Mridula Lawrence initiated the program. It aimed to expose Caritas media people to the ten months of tsunami rehabilitation work carried out by Caritas in India. Caritas Belgium’s media officer Veronique de Warsaeger spoke for the entire group after the program, saying they “wanted to see what has happened to the money. And, I could really see that,” she added.
A ride in the Pulicat Lake took Caritas members of different nations to tsunami projects of Caritas India in the area north of Chennai. Photography by Stefan Teplan
The team of communicators visited several programs that Caritas India funds for restoring shelter, livelihood and psychosocial strength of millions of people affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami. Although, Caritas runs projects on the coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the team could not visit Kerala as it faced heavy rainfall and flooded roads in Chennai, resulting in last minute schedule changes. Team members said archdioceses of Pondicherry, and Madras-Mylapore, along with Thanjavur diocese showed flexibility and patience in rapidly arranging alternative schedules while making sure the journalists’ expectations are met. “My expectations were not only met, they were even more than met”, said Margaret Rice, communicator of Caritas Australia. Just like her colleagues, Rice spoke with many tsunami-affected people, fishermen and women from self-help-groups and people living in temporary shelters.
Participants of the Caritas joint exposure to Caritas tsunami projects in India. Photography by Stefan Teplan
Israeli photographer Sephie Bergerson admitted that he was “very critical at first.” He said he felt “too much time” ” was being spent for meeting officials, “but I really got everything “too much time” ” was being spent for meeting officials, “but I really got everything I needed to illustrate good stories.” French journalist Francois Tcherkessoff found “everything perfectly arranged and very professional.” In a note, Margaret Anne MacShane from Sciaf, Caritas Scotland, thanked organizers for making her “visit to India so memorable.” In a similar note, Maylis d’Aboville of Secours Catholique (Caritas France) said she “enjoyed the way” the program was prepared. Ms. Bangawanty Tambunam, who came from severely tsunami-affected Indonesia, appreciated the chance to compare the tsunami-response in India with that of Indonesia. “For me it was very a good chance to compare the work in Indonesia and in India,” she said adding that the visit gave her a “wider perspective of the Caritas response to the tsunami throughout South-East Asia.” Bangawanty also thanked the organizers and asked for their assistance in a communication workshop she would like to arrange in Indonesia. For Orla Fagan from Trocaire, (Caritas Ireland) the program was “excellent” because of the visible “good work” and the “honest answers” she received. However, she said there is always “room for improvement.” She felt the program was “too tight” and it was “over ambitious to put so much into a few days. One extra day would have “made a huge difference and taken the pressure off.” All the participants received some press materials, the latest facts and figures on the Caritas tsunami projects in India and photographs produced by Caritas international communicators Teplan and Zoller. Fr. Varghese Mattamana, Assistant Executive Director of Caritas India, said he was “delighted to see” how the joint exposure “turned out to be a great success.” Gerhard Meier, leader of the facilitating team of Caritas India, and Fr. Mattamana said such occasional joint field visits are needed to intensify the inter-organisational exchange. The joint field visit should push for more relationship building, they said.
© Stefan Teplan
First published on the website of Caritas India, link: http://www.caritasindia.org/NewsDetails.aspx?Nid=51
