It is a belief that something good comes out of all events – the tsunami that struck parts of the world in December 2004 certainly exemplified this. The devastation produced in terms of loss of life and property was countered by the number of players in the field.

Among them were the Non-governmental organizations – big and small, local, regional and global. They were all there to contribute whatever they could to the reparative process.

SCARF was no exception. The first task was to evacuate SCARF's own 40 odd patients from the sea side Mahabalipuram centre. Fortunately, there was no damage to the centre or the residents.

Having entered the field from day 2 of the disaster, SCARF has been continuously and steadily working in the tsunami affected areas in Chennai, Pondicherry and Cuddalore till date, and intends to do so at least for another two years. The three main areas of activity have been

• Training various groups on principles of counseling survivors/victims ,
• Psychosocial Intervention including counseling, medication, rehabilitation & management of the mentally ill in the area,
• Relief work in terms of distribution of essential items wherever necessary.

Several individuals and organizations contributed to the effective functioning of SCARF in the post disaster situation.

All staff of SCARF rose to the occasion and visited the disaster areas to provide psychosocial support and relief. The efforts of Mr. D. Kotteshwara Rao whose leadership and enthusiasm led to well deserved recognition by the media and other agencies on the field. Mr. Sujit John, Dr. Padmavati, Dr. Mangala, Dr. Soundhari, Mr. Edward Sudhakar, Mr. Jameson Samuel, Mr. Kribakaran, Mr. Karthikeyan and Dr. Arthi provided the strong support system that was the need of the hour.

Working with NGOs and partners

• World Health Organization
• Deutsche Bank Foundation
• Helpage India
  
• MNTN
• CREED
  
• Avvai Welfare Trust
  
• Bharati Trust
  
• TMSSS
  
• Oxfam Trust
• PLAN International 
• Clan Destino
• Child Health Education Society (CHES)
  
• Monfort Community Development Society (MCDS)
• People Education for Development Association (PEDA)
  
• Institute for Social Education and Development (ISED)
  
• Society for Administration of Telemedicine and Healthcare Informatics (SATHI)

Other friends & Donors

•  Dr. Judith Jaeger, USA
  
• Ms. Donna O’Shea, USA
• Ms. Judith Karlin, USA
  
• Mr. Joe Bridge, USA
  
• Ms. Lisa Argersinger, USA
  
• Ms. Tanya Manohar, USA
  
• Dr. Steve Lurie, Canada
• Dr. E. Corin, Canada
• Dr. Alain D. Lesage, Canada
• Dr. Helen Herrman
• The Zucker Hillside Hospital, USA
  
• Canadian Mental Health Association, Toronto
  
• Intercultural Community, USA

The efforts of SCARF in providing psychosocial support in geographically far flung areas was aided by emerging technology – Telemedicine. The Tsunami led to understanding viability and role of telemedicine in community mental health.

The maiden effort of SCARF in working in a post disaster situation led to some indepth understanding of human behavior in acutely traumatic situations. SCARF aided several affected persons to come to terms with their situation and get along with their lives.

For a detailed report on Tsunami Relief, click here . (Adobe Acrobat PDF < 4mb)