Yazha Thoni: OMI Newsletter Sep-Dec 2009 - oblate province of ...

of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The childrenwere under nourished, prone to sicknesses,traumatized by their past experiences. Thesechildren have gone through hell havingwitnessed the slaughter of their own parents andloved ones. The life in the refugee camps, andtheir experience there, and the abuse theyencountered have left an indelible mark in theirlives.These centres were used to harness their inborntalents and develop their self image. To boosttheir self image, life skill in the field of non formaland formal education were provided. Sewingbeing the main focus and other skills like cooking,hair dressing, and soft toys making, flowermaking and floral arrangements, the importanceof savings, singing and drama were some of theskills of non formal education. A computercentre to give them the basic knowledge of hightech is also established. The end result lookspromising. A new ray of hope has dawned in thelives of these people. The fear trauma that hadgripped them seems to be vanishing. They areable to stand on their own feet; they sew andmend their own clothes and that of the family.Some have already found employment. Theyhave a better self image. This course alsoprepared them for family life. Basic food habitswhich lack basic nutrients have changed and abetter health awareness has been created.Feeding programmeThe beneficiaries of this project are childrenfrom internally displaced families from thevillages of Chaddy, Allaipiddy, Mandaithivu,Naranthanai, Punguduthivu, Sinna Madhu andDelft.Before we started the programme, a needassessment was made by the social service wingProgramme organized for them were, asubstantial meal after school, followed by somerecreational activities like games... play time;during these programmes, qualified councellorsworked with these children. Opportunities wereprovided for the development of their talents inthe form of music drama and art. The visit ofthe medical personal and the monitoring of theirweight and health were done bimonthly. Thenutrition meal consisted of green gram, milk,sugar and coconut. All these centres weremanned by volunteers housed in the parish hallsand supervised by the parish priests.VavuniyaRev. Fr. Sylvester omi, the Director of OSS, hasalready started rehabilitation work among thepeople who have just returned from the IDPcamps and resettled in and around Vavuniya andMannar. With the assistance of his staff, Fr.24 Yazha Thoni