|
1. Non-Formal Education
Realising that the ignorance and illiteracy are the barriers that disable the
people in understanding and exercising their fundamental rights, AREDS has
been involved in promoting Non Formal Education amongst the rural masses to
help them gain awareness of their socio- economic environment and find common
solutions through collective action.
2. People's Organisation
AREDS organised people with the belief that "Small People with Conscious and
Collective numbers can create Another World". AREDS has made efforts to integrate
the organised people's organisations at district and state level in order to meet
the challenges thrown by the new policies and programmes of the government, which
threaten the very livelihood rights of the great majority of the people, especially
the Dalits and Women in rural Tamil Nadu. These organisations, with their distinct
identities, have developed their own political stand and creative reflections on
the crucial issues and policies that affect their target groups.
3.Health –scores of the year
AREDS has structured its multi-prolonged health policies and planned
its programmes and activities to meet the challenges of the times.
The ´Triple H´ team created by AREDS has evolved a programme of action
involving emergency health service, ANC care, immunization to children
under five, promoting alternative health systems such as herbal medicine,
tackling the learning problems faced by children in the age group of 5-8 years,
conducting health awareness education programmes and health camps for the rural poor.
4.Strengthening of livelihood and economic base
To enhance economic sustenance among the grass roots,
AREDS initiated movements - SWATE, PDM, OCAM, KDALU are
promoting Savings and Credit Programmes. Members of SWATE
and other men’s groups created by AREDS, by making use of
the credit facilities offered by the Union Government Scheme (SGSY)
have created for the rural poor self employments like vegetable vending,
selling garments, producing and selling cleaning powder, perfume powder
and incense powder, running footwear shops, rearing cattle and milk animals etc.,
In addition to this, AREDS is engaged in providing alternative employment opportunities
to the rural poor in setting up units for manufacturing building material such as hollow block and mosaic.
5.PGC – People´s Governance Cell
PGC has been active in making local government bodies as authentic institutions of self-governments
through newsletters, regional seminars, and meeting and lobbying with the members of the State
Legislature, members of the Planning Commission and also with the State-level Panchayat Presidents´
Association.
6. Movement Building for Networking, Advocacy and Lobbying
Micro Level: AREDS helps people in conscious raising, awareness building, enhancing
skills and abilities to understand and react to the situations in which they find themselves.
And with this view it promotes groups (sangams) in the villages and brings them together in
Federations and Movements Viz SWATE, PDM, OCAM, KDALU. Now it has the collaboration among the
carious movements from the local, districts, and state, national, and international levels.
Macro Level: AREDS takes up the struggle against the violation of human rights
( especially those of Dalits, women and labourers and for defending the water and livelihood rights,
protecting the environment against its degradation by indiscriminate sand mining in the rivers by
facilitating the People's Movements such as SWATE, PDM, OCAM to grow enough to handle these issues
and influence the policy changes of the government in favour of the deprived sections.
This endeavour is taking place in the context of globalization where people cannot protect
themselves from the increased levels and dimensions of exploitation and deprivation.
AREDS is involved in promoting collectives through networking the state
level movements for achieving better bargaining power for the people in their struggle to get
governmental policies and programmes protecting and strengthening the rights of the vulnerable
sections. (Women MAPOVI T.N)
Campaigns, Seminars, Conferences for Lobbying and Advocacy
As part of the support service to NGOs and people’s organisations,
AREDS conducts workshops and seminars to NGOs and people’s organisations
and also to government bureaucrats. It also organises regional level consultations, seminars,
and workshops to help people movements to take up collective lobby work for policy change.
It also helps networking at State level of people’s movement to lobby on the national
issues such as 33% reservation for women in Parliament, Dalit rights, human rights, and
campaigns against environmental degradation, women’s poverty and women’s rights as well
at international levels.
7. Support Service
a. Documentation and Publication
Documentation and Publication have been crucial in all the development interventions of AREDS.
The publication has greatly helped in soliciting district and state level support on many issues
involving mass actions.
b. Training
AREDS as a facilitating Organisation gives training to other NGOs,
people’s movements on Micro credit, decentralised people’s plan in relation to
Local bodies, Right to information, Budget Analysis, Gender question, rights of
unorganized labour, organizational development programmes and capacity building.
It also conducts Theatre Workshops on such issue-related themes.
AREDS staff, functioning as the faculty for training programmes,
has developed the capacity to conduct training on movement building through the
federations and unions. AREDS is often chosen as the resource agency to facilitate
the trainings organised by the government. It gives training at national and international
levels on Dalit which help research students to become conscious of the everyday realities
in the country and of the developmental actions. The activists from a number of NGOs and the
leaders from various People’s Organizations visit AREDS and meet with the activists of
AREDS initiated People’s movements for sharing and learning from each other’s experiences.
Many groups from other states and other countries also make frequent visits to AREDS for
training in getting exposure to the people’s issues.
|
