No fewer than 41 villages in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu were devastated by the tsunami.
Father George Manadan, vicar general of the Thrissur Archdiocese and head of a special Relief Aid Commission, told Fides that the archdiocese would take care of the village of Kilmidalam, in the Diocese of Kottar.
«Our people are responding with great generosity to help those devastated people to resume normal life,» said Father Manadan.
The archdiocese intends to assist the villagers until all the families have a home and to supply them with tools and equipment for fishing. It also aims to rebuild the school and replenish supplies to enable children to start lessons again.
The Thrissur Archdiocese launched the idea of «twinning,» encouraging other ecclesial realities, religious provinces and associations in India and elsewhere to establish a special relation with the local realities in order to provide aid to villages hit by the tidal wave.