Our Partner's 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 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.
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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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Women's Self-Help Groups
Domestic violence is a widespread but often hidden reality for women in rural South India. Many are trapped in abusive relationships, silenced by fear, stigma, and a lack of support. In some communities, violence is even seen as a normal part of marriage.
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Our partners work to break this silence through the formation of Violence Against Women committees. These groups work alongside women's self-help groups and are trained to recognise gender-based violence, such as domestic abuse, dowry violence, sex-selective abortion, and child marriage, and to support survivors. Members become trusted advocates in their communities, helping women to understand their rights and seek justice through police, courts, and welfare services.
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Our partners also train police, legal officials, and local authorities to ensure laws protecting women are known and enforced. By raising awareness and creating safe, informed networks, we help shift the norms that allow violence to persist.
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.
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Children’s clubs encourage their members to stay in school, pass their exams and go on to further education and good jobs.
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We also support girl adolescent groups which help identify caste discrimination, sexual abuse, child marriage, and monitor school dropouts. Following up girl dropout cases is especially important as when they leave school, girls are often relegated to household duties, such as cleaning and minding siblings, and can become vulnerable to underage marriage.
Children's clubs challenge the status quo and raise self-confidence and aspirations, which after generations of marginalisation, tend to be low. Our partners offer support and advise the children how to counter the discrimination young Arunthathiyars all too often experience.
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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.
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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
