In India, the 2004 tsunami and aftershocks created mammoth waves which hit the coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, causing the loss of thousands of lives and extensive damage to property.

90% of the communities affected were fishing communities. Of these, 23 villages in Cuddalore district were marooned and in Nagapattinam 55 villages were completely destroyed and many other villages damaged.

The impact of the tsunami on older people was significant. They lost family members, livelihoods, possessions, and emotional support and coping mechanisms. Older survivors' feelings of vulnerability and trauma were exacerbated by their reduced access to relief assistance and lack of visibility in the response of relief and rehabilitation agencies.

Key achievements in 2007

HelpAge India is working on three key themes to ensure that older people in communities affected by the tsunami are treated with dignity and respect, guaranteed security in old age and protected from future disasters.

Sustaining a livelihood in old age

8,000 older people benefited from livelihood support such as distribution of farm tools following earlier land desalination, and training on sustainable farming methods. Village-level federations of Elder Self Help Groups oversee the 55 Community Grain Banks set up to support older people in times of hardship.

HelpAge India set up and strengthened more than 350 self-help groups for older people to enable them work together to realise their rights and entitlements. The groups have established links with banks such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, and obtained loans from them. Previously older people were not even able to open up bank accounts let alone access loans as they were widely regarded as high-risk.

Older people are becoming increasingly confident of managing their own affairs and have set up the Elders for Elders Foundation, which is registered as a trust under the 1882 Indian Trusts Act.

Enhanced health and social protection for older people

HelpAge India’s Coastal Resource Centre organised an advocacy workshop on social protection to draw the government’s attention to the needs of older people in rural villages and call for improved access to the old-age pension.

Four workshops were conducted to raise awareness of older people’s rights and entitlements. An advocacy campaign resulted in the presentation of more than 600 old-age pension applications to district administration authorities.

In addition to regular Mobile Medical Unit services, specialist medical camps provided age-specific healthcare services to more than 17,000 older people, and over 400 older people were referred for cataract surgery. 165 older people attended free one-day cardiology and diabetes clinics in Cuddalore.

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

90 older people from district and village federations participated in training workshops in Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam villages, held in association with the District Administration, UNDP, the Fire Service and local Primary Health Centres. The training focused on safeguarding older people during emergencies.

The Coastal Resource Centre will provide the focus for future advocacy work around the specific needs of older people in disaster response programmes.