Ending Abuse India Project #61393

Free 750 Indian families from debt and deprivation

by Village Service Trust

Project Report | Sep 9, 2026
'Now we can build financial security ourselves'

By Elamathi | Village Service Trust adviser

A meeting of Thekkampatti women's group

Our project “Free 750 Indian families from debt and deprivation” works with women of the Arunthathiyar community in our project area – women who count among the most disadvantaged within Tamil Nadu's Dalit communities, carrying the combined weight of caste, gender and poverty.

The project aims to provide affordable credit and raise living standards by forming women’s groups. There is a pressing need to form self-help groups specifically for Arunthathiyar women. Development has reached many communities around them – livelihood programmes, skill training, government schemes – but Arunthathiyar women have too often stayed at the margins of this progress.

This means women becoming financially self-reliant: able to meet their own personal expenses without depending on their husbands even for basic household needs, and able to take part in family decisions rather than being left out.

In the village of Thekkampatti, a new self-help group was formed specifically to address the burden of commercial loans taken from microfinance institutions (MFIs), or from high-interest private informal loans, and the lack of any savings habit among women in the village. The group's founding aim is to reduce, and eventually eliminate, its members' dependence on outside financial institutions – alongside community action such as bringing daily drinking-water facilities into use for the village.

A detailed mapping of members' MFI loans is being completed by the field team, and the points below are what they have found so far.

WHAT HAS CHANGED

Women have grown more aware of the need to reduce their dependence on MFI loans, or on moneylenders, and of building financial independence rather than depending on the men in the household.
Members have come together as a group to plan loans that will meet their children's future higher-education costs, rather than treating this as each family's problem alone.
Even in small amounts, women have begun to build a regular savings habit.
Interest has grown in self-employment through skill training in tailoring, embroidery and cooking.
Children's rights issues are now treated as matters the whole group can act on, not just individual family concerns.
Members have developed the courage to take on problems collectively rather than facing them alone.

The clearest evidence of change comes from four Arunthathiyar women: each previously held loans from four separate financial institutions, and each now holds and repays loans through only two. They plan, in the coming years, to move what remains of their borrowing towards into more affordable loans through the women’s federation that represents self-help groups.

Women who completed tailoring training are now stitching for their own families, and increasingly for paying customers from the village as well – taking orders for blouses and other garments, and earning 300 to 500 a day for this work.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“Earlier, we depended on high-interest loans to meet emergency needs. Now, by saving through the self-help group, we have gained confidence that we can build financial security for ourselves.”

Links:

Read more about women's groups on our website

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May 14, 2026
From Roads to Rights: Children's Groups in action

By Maddie A. Welford | VST volunteer

Arunthathiyar children from a different group

Recently, a VST volunteer visited some Arunthathiyar children’s groups in the village of Sankarnagar. Arunthathiyars are a Dalit sub-caste who face discrimination from other communities. There are two groups in this village, one spanning ages 12-14, and the other, ages 15-18. Both groups typically meet separately every month, however if they face a collective issue, then they will all meet and work towards a resolution together. These groups are headed by one child leader and then supervised by an adult who often was a previous member themselves.

We sat down and spoke with both the groups, hoping to get first hand accounts of their goals and achievements. They first claimed that their objectives were to cultivate various life skills, such as self-confidence and awareness of child rights, alongside monitoring teenagers at risk of marriage under the legal age or child labour.

They went on to describe their various achievements. For instance, they had a dropout readmitted to school and managed to instigate the building of a new road in the village by lobbying at the local panchayat (council). This is one of the most effective ways to bring improved facilities to poor villages as the collective voices of many are more often listened to than the voice of an individual, especially if they are children.

The most significant achievement however was their success in ending illegal drugs sales that were taking place under the guise of a teashop in the village, and being sold to both adults and children. The drugs being sold to children included coollip (chewing tobacco), marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes.

Upon hearing this, staff from VST’s partner working with the groups taught the children various strategies to stand up to the illicit business. First, staff assisted the children to lead a protest around the village, shaming the use and selling of illegal substances. They also contacted the Children’s Welfare Committee and the police, causing the latter to attend the local school to inform the children that if they knew of any people illegally selling these drugs, that they could phone them anonymously.

Consequently, one of the children’s group phoned the line and identified the shop that was selling the drugs. The police came and arrested the salesman, and he was forced to pay a hefty fine. Now he has reopened his shop for selling tea, and tea alone.

Lastly, the children described their future aspirations as individuals, and their future goals for the groups. They listed a great number of different occupational aspirations, which ranged from being a member of the police, a doctor, lawyer, engineer, to being a soldier. Given the wide variety of these aspirations, it is clear how the activities of children’s groups like these continue to drive meaningful progress, empowering the community toward brighter and more prosperous futures.

One of the children’s groups plans to petition for more toilets in their local colony. Currently 77 homes do not have a toilet, and they are forced to use the local stream.

There has also been a recent discrimination case against the Arunthathiyar children at their school. In Indian culture, food is eaten with only the right hand as the left is traditionally reserved for personal hygiene. During mealtime, the dominant caste server offered the Arunthathiyar children food with her left hand rather than the right (but not for dominant caste children), signalling that they were ‘dirty’ and inferior. These types of discriminatory practices are still very common for Arunthathiyar communities, and these children are working hard to put a stop to them in their community. The case is due to be investigated.

*Names of people and places have been changed for privacy and safeguarding reasons.

Links:

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Jan 22, 2026
Patience is rewarded

By Tony Huckle | Secretary, Village Service Trust

Seeniyammal (right) with the staff team member who

As part of our project to uplift the marginalised Arunthathiyar community, field staff from our partner Arogya Agam try to ensure that Arunthathiyar children, especially girls, stay in school so that they can gain qualifications and the prospect of good jobs and a better chance in life than their parents experienced.

This is the story of one of their successes.

In Silvarpatti village, Seeniyammal, a hardworking woman, is employed as a cleaning staff member at a government girls’ school. She is a widow and mother of two daughters and one son. Her husband passed away several years ago, leaving her as the sole breadwinner of the family.

Her two elder children studied only up to Class 9 (age 14) before discontinuing their education. Her youngest daughter, Renu (name changed), was enrolled in Class 9 as well. However, after attending school for only two weeks, Renu began to skip classes frequently — attending once in a while, then stopping altogether. For ten days, she did not go to school even once.

A local volunteer noticed this and informed the Arogya Agam field staff. The next day, the field staff visited the village to understand the situation. When they reached Renu’s house, they found her staying at home. Her mother was also absent from work that day.

On inquiry, Seeniyammal explained that Renu’s class teacher had warned her, saying, “Your daughter is not coming to school regularly. It’s your responsibility to ensure she attends. If you fail, we’ll report it to the headmistress — and you may lose your job.”

Worried about this, Seeniyammal stopped going to work, hoping to convince her daughter to return to school. Despite her mother’s repeated requests — and even scolding — Renu refused, saying only, “I don’t like going to school.”

Seeing the seriousness of the issue, Arogya Agam staff and a volunteer visited Renu several times. They spoke gently to her about the importance of education, what opportunities she could gain through learning, and what hardships she might face if she discontinued her studies.

They also reminded her, “You’ve already lost your father, and now your mother struggles alone to raise you. Because of your absence, she’s even stopped going to work. Imagine how difficult her life would be.”

They explained the risks of staying home and encouraged Renu to think about her future. Slowly, Renu’s attitude began to change. She promised that she would return to school and continue her studies.

With the joint effort of the Arogya Agam team, her mother, and the school authorities, Renu was re-enrolled. Today, Renu attends school regularly, happily, and with enthusiasm. Her mother has also resumed her work with a peaceful heart. Renu now hopes to become a teacher in the future.

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