COMMUNITY ACTION FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY-CARDS

Community Action for Rural Development Society - CARDS is a non-governmental, social service organisation formed by educated people of the deprived Community. Its development activities are centered around the downtrodden and oppressed people of backward villages in Gingee and Vallam Blocks of Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu.

VISION

An egalitarian just social order wherein the oppressed final equal opportunities for development to voice for their rights and act upon to achieve the same.

MISSION

Sensitising the most disadvantaged and oppressed communities to provide opportunities for development, building awareness to realise their rights and enabling them to strive for the same.

PROJECT LOCATION

CARDS’ development activities are centered around the backward villages of Gingee & Vallam Blocks of Villupuram District in Tamil Nadu.

PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVE

Empowerment of the deprived and disadvantaged people for self reliancethrough non-formal and continuing education.

STRATEGIES

• Awareness Building • Initiating & Strengthening People’s Organisations • Linking People with Support and Resource Systems • Social Advocacy • Networking

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

CARDS recognises that each child has an inherent right to life. And the society has the duty towards the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental, physical abilities to their fullest potential. CARDS takes up community based initiatives for ensuring these rights. The activities include campaign for immunisation, enrollment campaign, supplementary education, child labour elimination and special care for children with disabilities.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR YOUTH

CARDS excels other institutions by giving efficient Technical Education for the school dropouts, poor and needy young boys and girls. It has well versed resource personnel to teach the interested candidates on servicing house-hold electrical items and also audio and video equipment.

Every year about 20 to 25 boys benefit from this and become experts. This training helps the youth for self-employment and channalize them from going astray. It is taking steps sincerely to increase the number of beneficiaries in the years to come.

WOMEN DEVELOPMENT

Women’s contribution for development form a major share but they have little resources to call their own. They are deprived and denied of their rights to life, development, protection and participation. CARDS is striving to get them organised into self help groups and provide a learning atmosphere so that they become aware of the root causes of deprivation and denial and take proactive role to secure their rights.

SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMERS ASSOCIATION

With small land holdings, the small and marginal farmers are faced with multitude of problems. The efforts to equip them with knowledge and skills on rotation of crops, multiple crops, water management and working out the feasibilities of cooperative farming are being taken up. Through non-formal & continuing education, they shall be trained to develop their management skills on regular and continuous basis.

CULTURAL PROGRAMME

CARDS has a sound cultural team comprising of 10 volunteers. The team goes to village to village for building awareness among the people on area-specific issues and problems through means of folk media. Depending on the issue prevailing in the project area, the cultural events are designed or updated. Water and sanitation, primary health care, importance of early childhood care and development, safe-motherhood, importance of education and prevention of disability are some of the areas being covered by the cultural team.

LINKING PEOPLE WITH SERVICES

Most of the rural people are non-literates and unaware of the welfare measures meant for them. CARDS as a facilitating body, strives to link the disadvantaged people with services. The Persons with Disabilities, are linked up with District Rehabilitation Services, the aged get the supportive pensions, the widows and parents of low-caste people are assisted to avail educational sponsorship for their children, the small and marginal farmers are linked up with the Block Development Office for availing agricultural implements and subsidies in procuring seeds, saplings, fertilizers and pesticides, the young people are oriented about the possibilities of going in for higher education or vocational education.

RESOURCES

CARDS professes the ideology that ‘people are the best resources for themselves’. In this context, it initiates the disadvantaged people to get organised and enables them to collectively strive for their development. CARDS identifies and utilises the services of people who would work on voluntary basis. It also takes efforts to mobilises external support from individuals and organisations within and outside the country.