My name is K. Devi, aged 29. My husband’s name is A. Kalaivanan aged 33. I have three children. My husband is a fisherman. On 26th December 2004, my husband had gone to the seashore. After a few minutes, I saw people running helter-skelter saying that the sea is rising and coming into the village. My children and I came out and climbed the next house and gone to the terrace. My husband came to our house and searched for us, nobody was there. He, then, went to his mother’s house and searched for us over there and found none of us over there too.

My husband somehow found out my mother-in-law and my son Kabilan at the back of my house. That time, a huge wave swept passed the house and my son and husband were caught in the water. My husband told my son to catch hold of the coconut tree as he was floating on the water. In a few minutes time, that coconut tree broke and my son fell in the water. My husband tried a lot to save my son, but could not. At that time, my husband saw another boy struggling for life and saved him.

When the water was subsided, I found that all our household items were washed away by the sea water. I could not salvage even a single article from my house. My little son Kabilan got drowned in the water and died.
Initially, we were put in the Marriage Hall for some days. We have received a lot of help from the Government and other NGOs. Now, we are staying in a temporary shelter. A few months back, one of our villagers told me that AID was looking out for a few volunteers to work with people affected like us by Tsunami. I had approached AID and AID has absorbed me into the organization as volunteer after some initial training.

I am staying in a temporary shelter in Nambiyar Nagar. My daughters are going to schools. I am happy to work as a AID volunteer. I teach students in the evening school. It gives me a lot of consolation. I take part actively in the AID medical camp.
I select women who have various ailments and send them to doctors. I conduct meetings for the women groups. I have been also selected as the vice-president of Fisherwomen society. I do serve for this society. My husband is also helping me to serve various people and organizations.

K. Devi, AID Volunteer, Nagapattinam