Our partners' work
A self-help group is a group of women in a village who come together to support one another. Every member saves a small amount of money at the group’s monthly meetings. Members can take loans from their pooled funds. These loans can be used for family needs or to start micro-enterprises to boost their income. The groups can also obtain bank loans for their members on favourable terms. The micro-enterprises are typically backyard dairy cows, tea stalls or micro shops.
The groups are also a source of community strength with women campaigning against domestic violence and petitioning local authorities for village facilities such as safe drinking water. VST’s partners support hundreds of self-help groups with more than 20,000 members. Each group is a member of a federation of groups with elected leaders. These federation leaders can start new groups, bolster weaker groups, run community enterprises, organise campaigns on issues including under-age marriage, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence, and employ their own staff, such as micro-enterprise advisers.
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A meeting of the Vandiyur self-help group
Women's self-help groups
Domestic violence is still a reality for many women in rural South
India, though it often stays hidden because of fear and stigma, and women may not know where to turn.
Our partners help women and families to live safely and happily.
Village committees of trained women volunteers work alongside the self-help groups. They listen, offer counselling, help families settle problems, and connect women with the right services when needed.
A network of peer support volunteers, many of whom have come
through difficult times themselves, now works in all eight blocks of
Theni district. Our partners also work closely with police, legal aid and welfare officials so that help is easy to reach. In 2025–26, more than 1,200 young couples and 2,000 young men took part in sessions on respectful, happy family life.
Domestic violence
Our partners run programmes to set up children's clubs in local Dalit and tribal villages. These are often associated with the women's self-help group and local adults volunteer to supervise the clubs.
Children’s clubs encourage their members to stay in school, pass their exams and go on to further education and good jobs.
We also support girls’ groups. In the past, many girls in these villages
left school early to help at home, and some were married too young.
Today, girls’ groups help each other to complete their education,
keep watch for friends who stop coming to school, and plan for their
future.
Children’s clubs build confidence and ambition in villages where, for
generations, few children went far in school. Members take on roles
such as secretary and treasurer, encourage friends to stay in school,
and celebrate exam success together.
We also help with indigenous children’s education by arranging transport or hostels so they can attend school, by holding village classes, and by promoting a culture of school attendance.
Children's clubs
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Our partner ARUDECS has established Village Development Committees in the tribal communities of the Bodinayakkanur hills, Tamil Nadu. These committees have become essential, as individual concerns often go unaddressed, whereas collective action can be effective. Issues can be raised in the Gram Sabha (village public meeting) or by lobbying officials. Each committee is led by a volunteer who serves as a liaison between the village, ARUDECS, and government agencies.
These committees can help secure:
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Pensions and subsidised food by identifying eligible individuals and by obtaining essential documents like ration cards and identity cards.
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Regular health checks by coordinating regular visits by government health workers and tracking those vulnerable for follow-up care.
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The right for tribal people to collect forest produce by raising awareness of the Forest Rights Act and supporting communities to earn a living from marketing minor forest products.
Work with tribal communities
