Kallalpattu (AsiaNews) –Gilbert, 25, is a survivor but also a go-getter who turned a collective tragedy into a personal mission. His village, Kallalpattu, near Pondicherry in hardest-hit Tamil Nadu, was destroyed but the young businessman pulled up his sleeves and got involved in working with his fellow villagers and foreign friends and clients to rebuild not only what the tsunami had flattened but also social networks.
Gilbert has always been socially active. As a university student he was a leader in the All India Catholic University Federation. After graduating he moved on to work for a company in Pondicherry which offered affordable sightseeing with a difference: tourism as a way to bring ordinary people from different communities together.
On December 26, he was in Bangalore to give a seminar at Jesuits' Indian Social Institute (ISI) on leadership skills to girls from rural areas in Tamil Nadu. He had made the trip at the request of Fr K. Amal, who runs the Institute's Human Rights Department.
As soon as he heard about the tsunami, Gilbert rushed back to his home to find it had been totally levelled. But instead of giving in to despair, the young man chose to devote himself to rebuilding his community.
He set down to getting funds and supplies from a few of his customers in France and from his parents' contacts, and all were more than willing to help him. Thus, he managed to get 10,000 blankets the day after the Tsunami.
Gilbert's mission is now well defined. His village is slowly taking shape again, and he has visited nearby villages to assess the needs of local survivors. Above all, Gilbert has used his leadership skills to mobilise youths.
Paul Newman, advocacy officer for Bangalore-based Jesuit Refugee Service in South Asia, said of his friend: "Today Gilbert is a winner as he has successfully managed to get the whole village involved in the rebuilding not just of structures but of the entire community itself, and he is a great inspiration to youths there."