Roger Federer touring tsunami-hit villages in Tamil Nadu

World number one tennis player Roger Federer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador,is on a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu(the country’s hardest hit state), India and it started yesterday.He is here along with a big UNICEF team that will visit the affected areas to mark the two-year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami.The world No 1 player was accompanied by his girlfriend and manager Miroslava Mirkaa Vavrinec, a former WTA player.

Unicef goodwill ambassador and tennis star Roger Federer on Friday visited Cuddalore town on Tamil Nadu's east coast to see the recovery programme after the December 2004 tsunami.

Unicef's Building Back Better is a recovery programme for children in Cuddalore, 350 km from here, hit by the devastating tsunami that killed over 9,000 people in the state on Dec 26, 2004.

The programme is designed to not only restore services but also raise the standards and provide access to those who did not have it.

'In India, that approach has steered programmes in health and nutrition, provided safe drinking water, raised the quality of education, developed policies on child protection and raised HIV/AIDS awareness,' the organisation said here while announcing Federer's visit.

In Cuddalore, Federer met with children who have chairs and tables at school for the first time. Across the tsunami-hit districts of Tamil Nadu UNICEF has provided 330 schools with furniture and learning materials, which benefit around 140,000 children and 3,500 teachers.The improvements in their school include programmes to learn through participation rather than by rote and the use of puppet theatre to help them cope with post-tsunami trauma. Federer also met with UNICEF- trained early child care workers at one of the 351 restored government centres where pre-school children are able to get essential health care, nutrition supplements and informal early education.

Along with District Collector Mr. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Federer visited the Cuddalore Orphanage. UNICEF has helped to establish a tracking system to monitor around 2,000 children in Tamil Nadu who lost one or both parents in the tsunami, including those in the orphanage. As part of the tsunami psycho social support programme more than 114,000 children have been reached through counseling, art, puppetry and children's theatre.

“Many of the programmes we set up in the tsunami hit communities, such as education programmes and child protection interventions, will now serve as a model for the rest of the state to follow,” said Thomas George, UNICEF State Representative, Tamil Nadu. “Our focus has been to improve equity to services and to truly build back better for the children of Tamil Nadu.”

Federer’s day ended by meeting with teenagers who are learning about HIV through a life-skills programme that is giving them the practical information they need to make responsible decisions and spread awareness about the disease.

“It’s great to see the young people so full of life and spirit. Despite what happened to their community, they have really managed to turn things around,” said Federer

"I have been trying to tell them (the children) that I shall always be there for them. My first trip to India has been great. I will come back," said Federer, who was here as a part of the UNICEF tsunami recovery programme.

But World's No.1 Tennis Player was not interested in discussing the game when some reporters tried to ask him about his dry run in the French Open. “Tennis can wait,” he said. “I am here for UNICEF.”

Federer, the nine-time Grand Slam champion, teamed up with UNICEF two years ago after the tsunami struck. Federer led several fund-raising initiatives including the ATP All-Star Rally for Relief, a unique exhibition tournament with proceeds benefiting UNICEF's tsunami-relief programmes.

The Swiss player, who founded The Roger Federer Foundation, also works for the disadvantaged children in South Africa. Federer, who remains number one on grass, was recently voted as the athlete of the year by the Swiss public along with snowboard gold medallist Tanja Frieden at the national sports awards function.

Federer's visit to India lasts two more days and he will visit permanent housing shelters in neighbouring villages before leaving the country on Sunday. But in this brief period, he's provided enough inspiration for a lifetime.