The Art of Living’s Healing Touch in the Deluge-hit Tribal Areas

KOCHI:
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation has announced its helping hand in the rehabilitation and sustainable development of selected tribal settlements and an urban locality in Kerala which have been devastated by the recent floods.
This will be in tandem with the #RebuildingKerala campaign of the Kerala Government. Accordingly, the organisation’s project research wing has identified four regions that need urgent attention and support. Kozhielakudy in Idukki, Attathodu near Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta, Urngattiri in Malappuram are the selected tribal settlements. Besides, Art of Living will also assist the rehabilitation efforts at Pandanadu in Chengannur under its Sustainable Urban Welfare Program.
Under the leadership of Art of Living’s youth wing – YLTP, the organisation will appoint Yuvacharyas who will be responsible to coordinate and implement “Sri Abhayam” for each of these areas.
Project Sri Abhayam will have a 360-degree-approach incorporating health, hygiene, promoting human values and education, harmony and prosperity. Trauma relief workshops and regular Medical Camps will be an essential part of the project. It will support the affected families by providing ‘home relief kits’ with essential items, giving assistance in repairing their dwellings, providing water purifiers, solar power systems and lanterns, wherever necessary.
Scholarships will be provided to selected students from the tribal communities encouraging them to continue their education. Mini libraries are also envisaged. The second phase of “Sri Abhayam” will focus on vocational training and skill development. The affected communities will be wary of what the long road to recovery will entail, but Art of Living, with its unique “Sri Abhayam” strongly believes that, “Relief and rehabilitation aims at reducing the level of suffering and mitigating the distress being suffered by the victims and to free them from the shock and trauma caused by the sudden loss of their means of livelihood”.
The Art of Living will also continue its ongoing relief activities across Kerala. It has cleaned more than 750 homes, several schools and Calicut Corporation office, run 45 Medical Camps, 150+ Trauma Relief workshops and distributed 25,000 home relief kits to the flood victims. It had sent more than 520 metric tonnes of relief material worth Rs 9.5 Cr to Kerala.  Over the years, Art of Living has been implementing such programs across the globe in numerous countries like Kosovo, Syria, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka etc and even in USA in the aftermath of Katrina.