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Dispatch from Kerala-BayToday.ca exclusive, with tsunami photos

This Indian woman stands in the remains of her tsunami-ravaged home. Photo by Ian McLean, Special to BayToday.ca. North Bay lawyer and preacher Ian McLean has spent the last five days in Southern India. He sent BayToday.

This Indian woman stands in the remains of her tsunami-ravaged home. Photo by Ian McLean, Special to BayToday.ca.

North Bay lawyer and preacher Ian McLean has spent the last five days in Southern India. He sent BayToday.ca this dispatch and the attached photographs regarding his visit to the India village of Trichur, which suffered the effects of last months devastating tsunami. Here's what he had to say:

I am sending you greetings from Kerala, south India, 10 days after the tsunami.

Rosalind and I have been in Trichur since January 2 and the shock of the tsunami on this country is truly profound. While we were in Delhi, the talk was of the national government cancelling Republic Day, the national holiday usually held on January 26. The talk is of nothing else and daily the story of aftershocks is in the air, though to date we have felt nothing.

The purpose of our being in South India was to minister with Voice of Gospel, an Indian organisation of about 250 churches spread over five states in the south of the nation. As a sidelight, we are going to the tsunami hit area with members of the church to survey the damage as they plan the difficult task of restoration.

Within the Voice of Gospel constituency, not a life was lost though the tsunami destroyed the homes of many members of the scattered churches. The reason for the safety of the congregants was that the tsunami hit while the people were in their churches, which in every case were sufficiently inland to avoid the disaster.

The only church building destroyed resulted in no casualties as the congregation had been threatened by a group of radical Hindus and had moved to another location for that day.

The cost of reconstruction is prohibitive, and the threat of disease is still prevalent and menacing. Voice of Gospel plans to assist its people and others in rebuilding, and unlike government programs is constructed in such a way that any funds sent actually do get to the area affected.

If you are prepared to suggest to the people of North Bay who might be interested in assisting, if this course sounds appropriate, I would suggest people consider forwarding funds directly to Voice of Gospel at Mission Quarters, Trichur 680001, Kerala ,India.

I am attaching some photos of the area we are in for your reference and to understand the sheer scale of the problem. The area we are in is well removed from the main media outlets and in all liklihood will receive little or no meaningful assistance from government and will be forgotten when the media frenzy grows stale.

We will be back in North Bay Jan. 22 but are keeping in touch through your webpage. You have one loyal reader in south India.