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India
Relief and rehabilitation
USAID provided immediate assistance to survivors, including shelter, water and sanitation, clean-up and repairs, education and cash-for-work programs.
Transition from camps to communities
USAID maintains camp facilities, including water and sanitation, child care and health and recreation services, until people can move back to their communities. In addition, USAID has helped restart fishing and agricultural operations as well as other sources of income. Information campaigns and surveillance help prevent human trafficking. Training and job placement for women and youth as well as small loan programs for businesses give people jobs and income.
Technical assistance, good governance and reconciliation
A coastal management plan, prepared with USAID's assistance, will mitigate the impact of future disasters and maximize use of land and sea resources. Other programs work to redevelop the local port and other infrastructure to improve productivity. USAID also assists local governments with financial management plans to improve the collection of revenues and administration. In addition, programs create links between municipal officials in the most severely damaged Indian cities and counterparts in coastal U.S. cities to share experiences and best practices.
Mitigating damage for future disasters
USAID helps disaster-prone towns and villages, including those along India's southern coast, build their preparation and disaster response capabilities. This includes helping them prepare plans for a variety of hazards and strengthen the systems required to carry out those plans. In addition, programs work to strengthen early warning systems to mitigate future damage and loss of life.
Following are some examples of USAID's work in India.
08/17/05
USAID cash-for work program rebuilds salt pans
Prior to the tsunami, Balakrishnan earned a decent living
harvesting salt with his one acre of salt pans. The pans
were destroyed and he lacked the resources to rebuild
them. Through a USAID-funded cash-for-work program,
the silt deposited in his salt pans was removed and the
damaged infrastructure was rebuilt. He is back in
business and as the price for salt increases, his monthly
income is 87 percent higher than the pre-tsunami days.
The additional money helps pay for his son’s education.
07/20/05 
Clean up act builds good will
Infrastructure improvements in temporary settlements
On July 12, USAID provided an additional $4.2 million to
three NGOs working along the southern coast of India.
These NGOs will remain engaged with affected families in
more than 60 temporary settlements. Working with the
affected families, often through cash-for-work programs,
these NGOs will carry out shelter and community
improvements in anticipation of the heavy rains expected in
October. Improvements will include setting up systems for
water purification and treatment, organizing solid waste
management programs, repairing walls and roofs of
individual units, and providing drainage in and around the
shelters. The NGOs will also continue to provide water and
sanitation support, and hygiene education. Shelter
improvement activities will benefit more than 10,000
families.
06/22/05 Teaching tsunami affected children healthy lessons
USAID and EXNORA, a local NGO, recently
launched a program to educate hundreds of
tsunami-affected children living in temporary
shelters on health, sanitation and hygiene. A
three day workshop on how to use puppetry
and games to convey messages to children
was held in Nagapattinam for 70 volunteers.
The volunteers are expected to organize
education programs for children in the tsunami
hit areas.
06/08/05 Community level workers learn to counsel tsunami victims
USAID is training 3,000 community level
workers in counseling skills to help
communities recover from the psychological
trauma caused by the tsumami. The
program is also establishing a referral
system for those who may need a higher
level of psychological care. USAID's
program incorporates lessons learned from
previous disasters in India.On May 19, 250 CLWs attended a training session in Nagapattinam. The majority of participants were
from the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has determined that government staff working at the
community level, such as school teachers, nurses and day care providers, need to be trained on
psycho-social care to better support effective disaster relief and rehabilitation.
06/01/05 Computer classes excite youth
 USAID is supporting recreational and educational
activities for youth in tsunami-affected
Periyakalapet, Pondicherry district. At a learning
center established in the village, 36 young girls are
working to obtain a diploma in computer
applications, including Excel, Powerpoint,
Paintbrush and Word. Other youth are taking
sewing and driving lessons or organizing
sports events and festivals.
05/25/05 Access to water easing life for tsunami victims
With the summer months in full swing, ensuring that residents of temporary settlements have access to water continues to be a USAID priority. To date, USAID has constructed 398 hand-pumps and provided pump maintenance training and necessary tools to community members in tsunami-affected areas.
05/18/05 Livestock commerce provides alternative incomes
 The Dalit community in the village of Thenapattinam in Nagapattinam district has developed livestock commerce as an alternative source of income under a USAID program. Previously, the community depended on agricultural labor for income. However, as a result of the tsunami, heavy sand deposits left the land unsuitable for farming.
With help from local NGO Sevai, women's groups have been formed and a revolving fund has been created to finance livestock activities. Eighteen members have received two cows each, and five members have received ten goats each. Each member has also been given a small grant to cover shed, fodder, vaccination and insurance costs. In order to sustain the fund, the group has decided that 70% of the cost of the animal will be a grant and 30% will be a loan. The women have already started selling milk from their cows to the local cooperative, providing much needed income, as well as a source of pride, for the women.
05/11/05 Rebuilding community resources through cash-for-work
program
Through a cash-for-work program, USAID is working with the
community of Nagappattinam to restore a community lake
ravaged during the tsunami. The program employs men and
women from the community to de-silt the lake and use the
sand to create new embankments. Trees will be planted
around the lake, and once work is complete, the area will be
converted to a public park. The lake is believed to be the
original source of water for the community and a number of
adults and children died at the site. The local Panchayat
leader officially thanked USAID for rehabilitating this culturally
important site for the community.
05/04/05 USAID supports skills training for adolescent
girls
Thanks to USAID and its partner NGOs,
adolescent girls in Chennai, Tamil Nadu are
participating in skills training activities, including
mushroom cultivation, basket weaving, pickling,
candle making and sewing. The program has
provided over 100 different training programs,
reaching more than 3,200 female beneficiaries to
date. In the village of Keechankuppam, many of
the program participants are now selling their
products, including baskets and pickles,
in the local market.
04/27/05 More than 300 fisherman return to sea
Thanks to USAID, over 300 fishermen
from four villages surrounding
Tirumallivasal returned to the sea on April
20, 2005. As a result of the tsunami,
most of the fishermen in the area lost
their boats and fishing nets, preventing
them from returning to work. To date,
USAID funding has supported the repair
of 170 boats, 232 boat engines and 200
fishing nets through a cash-for-work
program. With these newly restored
resources, the fishermen were able to
start fishing again.
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