We are planning to expand our activities in several domains.
A project with women-headed families
Our projects on women development have reached out to many women who are now financially independent and socially integrated in their communities. While these projects have been a success for many, we have realised that we do not reach out to the most vulnerable women, namely to the women-headed families. These women are so deeply concentrated on the survival of their families that they are not able to participate in the more general projects for rural women. They are also looked down upon by other women and are therefore not encouraged to participate in meetings by their peers. The children of women-headed families mostly do not go to school because they have to help their mother. Our aim is to make it possible for these women to earn a livelihood for their families, to create awareness on the importance of education for their children and to improve their social inclusion.
Multipurpose training and resource centre
We are planning to construct a multi-purpose training and resource centre on our lands in Tiruvallur. It will be a centre where disabled persons and disadvantaged women and youths will receive trainings, legal advice and medical help. The centre will also offer information for all those interested in working with the disadvantaged populations in Tiruvallur District.
Many potential participants have not come to our trainings because they lived too far away to travel back and forth in a day. To solve this problem, we will offer accommodation for these participants and thus reach out to a larger public for our trainings.
With respect to youths, we have realised that the youths for whom we offer sponsorships for higher studies often do not know what kind of studies exist and what they would like to do. This is why we will offer career guidance to disadvantaged youths.
Furthermore, we will start an Early Intervention Centre for Disabled Children in this multi-purpose centre. Doctors will have visiting hours here two days a week and concerned families could come to ask questions and receive treatments. As of now, there are no adequate early intervention services for disabled children in our operational areas.
Moreover, a lawyer will be in the centre one day a week to provide free legal advice for deserving families. Affected Poor families and women who are not able to pat fees to lawyers are in need of immediate legal guidance
Lastly, there is no space for researchers, volunteers and other NGOs to study our compilations of Government schemes and experiences in the field of rural development in our current office. We will create such a space within our multi-purpose training hall.
Vehicle support for Vasantham Federation
We are planning to get a modified vehicle for Vasantham Federation for Differently Abled. For an effective functioning of Vasantham Federation, it is crucial to assure the mobility of its leaders and members. Vasantham Federation is a is a District level federation of persons with disabilities composed of 14 block level federations. The federation counts 10,070 members.
Vasantham leaders need to be able to join meetings and skill trainings. They need to visit Government Offices to discuss welfare schemes for differently abled. They also need to have the possibility to visit persons with disabilities in emergencies.
Vasantham members need transportation to reach medical assessment centres so that they can get free advice and treatment. Transportation is also needed for exposure visits for parents of children with disabilities. The idea is that parents who are facing difficulties could get in in touch and exchange experiences with families where disabled children are well integrated into the family.
At the moment, we can only provide parts of these services with rented vehicles. With our own vehicle, we would be able to support more persons with disabilities in a more effective and countinuous way.
Children Education Programme
We have planned to replicate our projects focusing on the education of children in other blocks of the District. Children are studying in Government schools where the quality of education is poor. We need to educate the families and communities to take responsibility for the educational development of their children. Child centric strategies need to be adopted. Pupils need to have access to counselling, scholarship and mentoring support.