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In an animation, happy homes morph into a big blue wave. The following scenes turn more poignant, as teenagers hailing from Nagapattinam narrate the devastation caused by the tsunami and the rehabilitation measures. "I had nightmares that another tsunami would come and I would be the lone survivor," recalls Sobarnath, from Kallar village, who lost his grandfather and brother in the tragedy. Rojamani enacts how she clung on to a treetop, while the entire village was reeling under nature's fury. The 18-minute short film, Tsunami — before and after, which is a media project of the NGO - Plan India, was made entirely by the children of the coastal town under the guidance of film director Govind Nihalani.

"Children get ignored in a disaster situation. Plan, however, gives more importance to a child's point of view in all its media projects," says Bhagyashree Dengle, Executive Director of Plan India. The NGO has undertaken similar media projects with young ragpickers and street children. "We needed a director who could handle social problems with sensitivity and Nihalani was the right candidate." The director, who was working with children for the first time, spent four days to train his young crew in Nagapattinam.

After learning about his illustrious background, many children were enthusiastic to take part in the shooting. "Now, they can watch films more critically. Some of them even suggest how a movie scene could be shot from a better angle," observes Diraviaraj, Assistant Co-ordinator, REAL - an implementing partner of Plan.

The kids were also overjoyed to interact with filmmakers during the film's screening at Chennai. "The project was a creative outlet for children. Talking to their fellow community members was therapeutic for them," adds Bhagyashree. Children's clubs called Nethilis (meaning small fish in Tamil) were formed by REAL-Plan. In the film, like a seasoned anchor, Pakya discusses the shortage of teachers with other high school students at a club meeting.

The NGO is also setting up a ward council, which would be run exclusively by children in each village of Nagapattinam. A `child Parliament' will be launched as part of a three-year project. Plan also encouraged the tsunami-affected youth to share their ideas during the reconstruction process.

For instance, in the short film, a school-goer from Kallar village showcases a model house he made for families that were rendered homeless by the tsunami. "Here's a separate room for kids and a staircase to the terrace," he eagerly points out. Sobarnath is featured in the documentary as he zealously pitches for better sanitation in a street play. Nagapattinam's youth also undertook a social equity audit, wherein they surveyed the relief measures undertaken by Plan India across various households.

"Children are more honest while conducting surveys and their work is more authentic," says Bhagyashree. Such work, she believes, would also improve team skills, leadership qualities and personality development. The children had to find out whether the beneficiaries were treated with dignity during the distribution process and used digital cameras for the survey. It was easy for them to spot the homes of marginalised groups such as widows and dalits, as they were familiar with different village communities. They also delved deeper into caste-based discrimination during the survey. "After the audit, we realised that children are far more capable of understanding social issues," points out Diraviaraj.

J. Radhakrishnan, the collector of Nagapatinnam, was so impressed with the social audit presentation made during the first anniversary of the tsunami that he requested the team to conduct a similar survey on the Government's distribution work. Plan, for its part, set up childcare centres for tsunami-affected families and helped re-unite the orphans with their extended families. "We are against any kind of institutionalisation and we wanted family members to play an important role in rehabilitation," says Bhagyashree. The NGO also had to take precautions to prevent child labour and trafficking. Bhagyashree rued that families even allowed child marriages to procure more compensation from the Government. Plan's implementing partners are keen on guiding the children right up to their higher education.

After taking part in the filmmaking sessions and the audit, many of these precocious youngsters do not want to confine themselves to agriculture or fishing. "They are dreaming big. Sobarnath wants to be a director, and some of his friends plan to take up software engineering," signs off an upbeat Diraviaraj.

More Stories on : Social Welfare | Natural Calamities | Children & Parenting | Cinema

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