35 years report

1

Traversed on Thorny path for 35

Years

A definite rural dream in RDO mind-A SUCCESS

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RURAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION (RDO Trust)

313, Gramya Bhavan, Aruvankadu – 643202, The Nilgiris (0423) 2230851, [email protected], [email protected],

www.rdotrust.org

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RURAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION (RDO Trust)

Traversed on Thorny path for 35 Years

A definite rural dream in RDO mind-A SUCCESS

Introduction

Emergence of RDO in 1980

Rural Development Organisation (RDO) Trust, which was born in 1980have been traversing

on the thorny path to fight and serve the rural masses in the Nilgiris district for the past 35

years. Though it has succeeded on education, health and livelihood fronts in hundreds of poor

and remote tribal, dalit and Badaga villages in the hill district to a remarkable extent in the last

thirty five years, it continues to serve more villages and also to work on a new project such as

Swachh Bharat Mission.

Friends Hesitated Perumal Unfazed

Mr. N. K. Perumal, Founder of the RDO Trust, recalls the heart rending story on the emergence

of RDO Trust:”When I landed in the educationally and economically backward Nilgiris hill

district in 1970s on deputation from Geneva based International Federation for

Plantation and Agricultural Workers (IFPAAW) to work as Industrial Relations Officer I

show the very poor living condition of the tribal,dalitand badagafamilies as well as the

landless labourers. I made up my mind to do something to improve the worse conditions

of the downtrodden”.

“As I became digitigrade almost walking on my toes without touching the ground with my heels

in the faraway hamlets, Rural Development seemed to have been nailed deep in my heart. Thus,

Rural Development Organisation was born with a clear and concrete objective to

developthe remote backward villages.

I salute everyone responsible for shouldering the RDO’s reputation built over thirty five years.

Because, the organisation did not sleep on a bed of roses for thirty five long years but

toiled hard treading on the rugged and thorny paths to achieve to the content of our

heart”.

MR.WILLEM SCHOLTEN

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First 10 Year Achievement a Fillip to RDO Team

The RDO stands tall today, with appreciations from various quarters because the achievements

in the first 10 years of its 35 years existence gave a fillip to the organisation. It is the prime duty

of the organisation to salute with folded hands and pat all who actively took part and won the

battle to ensure justice, freedom from slavery, livelihood guarantee and economic

empowerment of rural poor living in remote villages in the first decade-1980 to 1990.

In Reality, the Battles won in the first 10 years were Crucial and Oxygen to

the RDO

Strongly believed in the message that education would open the eyes of the illiterates and

slaves, the RDO first opened adult education centers in 1981. About 27,000 people including 75

percent women benefited by the adult education initiatives. As a result of it, hundreds of women

including tribes were given an opportunity to take part in training camps held in different parts

of India. Though these women were unable to speak English, they had the capacity to thin

k and express their thoughts in their dialects which could be translated in regional,

national and global languages.The success of adult education programme and the subsequent

activities led to a civilized life in their remote villages. They applied coconut oil to their

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hitherto dirty muddy hair, combed neatly, wore washed clothes and walked in a joy. One

can easily differentiate the undeveloped and slavery scenes seen in the rural belts thirty

five years ago and the remarkable improvement thirty five years later. All these

materialized because of the RDO’s revolution.

Dingy Women and Children Became Dinky

Having succeeded in changing the dingy mindset of the adults, who could be called as parents,

into the dinky, the RDO’s next clear goal was child education. The field workers of the RDO

started door to door campaign, distributed several thousand handbills, organized public

meetings, enacted street dramas, sang folk songs and organized orchestras to motivate the

parents to send their children to schools. The hard work did not go waste. 2116 children from

tribal, scheduled caste and backward class families were enrolled. Immediately the RDO built

55 schools in inaccessible remote villages to impart education to these children.

Over a period of 30 years 85,000 first generation children were educated.The girls and

boys, who had been grazing cattle, collecting dried eucalyptus tree leaves and working as

servant maids to supplement their illiterate parents’ income years ago, became educated and

attained economic independence by joining the mainstream, working in Government/private

sector or self-employed.

Nilgiris Collector Smt.SupriyaSaghu distributes uniforms to RDO School Children

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Basic Amenities

The organisation worked in villages where the basic facilities were almost zero. Since the

organization alone could not provide basic amenities as huge funds were required, the

information about the plight of the villages was brought to the knowledge of the district

administration. Shunning the common

practice of blaming the officials for lack of facilities in villages, the RDO employees developed a

good relationship with the officials and asked them to address the genuine grievances amidst

difficulties and oppositions. Consequent to the constant representationthe government spent

directly millionsof rupees for basic facilities like housing, roads, water, foot paths,

electricity, toilets etc.,

Many Lives Saved From Death Beds

The villages in which the RDO team worked were totally unhygienic. Parents and children were

fragile owing to lack of nutritious food. Adequate vitamin tablets were distributed door to door

and encouraged them to devour the vitamin tablets daily without fail. Every month free medical

camps were organized to screen them and detect diseases. A doctor and a seasoned assistant

were involved in the mission to check the health of villagers and guide them regarding the

health problems.

The timely medical assistance extended by the RDO saved many lives from the death beds.

Besides heart patients operated on, eye treatment at Immanuel Eye Hospital and provision of

The Living condition of Plantation workers – Ambilimalai - Sea forth

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artificial calipers to the disabled, many patients were transported to Ooty, Coimbatore and

Chennai for treatment.

EconomicRenaissance

The organisation decided to ensure economic independence in individual households. Though

the country has attained the political and social freedom, income generation is the real

freedom in every individual man’s life. It decided to bring about an economic renaissance

and worked on village based viable schemes such as cattle breeding, bee keeping, tea

cultivation, running petty shops, eucalyptus oil manufacturing, rabbit breeding and tailoring.

A huge action plan was drawn up to convert the waste lands into tea estates, which ultimately

led to the creation of tea garden spreading over 820 acres. The tea farm gives self-employment

to 800 family members and earns Rs.60000 per family per year.

Inhuman Money Lenders Ran Away

Looking back at the economic condition of the villages 35 years ago, we could shed tears

because almost every village was dominated by barbarous money lendersnot only the dailts and

tribals but also the agrarian Badagas were affected by money lenders.

Tea up gradation programme in Paniya Tribal Village

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The main reason for the thriving of money lenders then was the meager daily wage. The daily

wage earners could not find jobs in agriculture farms throughout the year. As they did not have

a savings habit, they had to depend on money lenders for urgent needs. The money lenders used

to visit the villages before sun rise. On seeing the money lenders entering their villages, the

innocent people used to wish them and beg for some money. The men and women writhed like

fishes trapped in the fishermen’s net as the money lenders inflicted mental torture on those who

were unable to repay the borrowings at the high rate of interest.

At a time when the crazy money lenders became anathema to the innocent people, the RDO

team arrived on the scene. The team created awareness about the danger of money lenders

which would kill many families. Deeply analyzing the requirements of the families, the

organisation gave a revolving fund of Rs.5000 to women groupsto use the fund for their urgent

requirements. Later, the revolving funds bulged to Rs.30000 and Rs.50000, facilitating the SHGs

to comfortably use the funds for their family needs at any time.The money lenders became

scared of the flow of revolving funds in villages and ran away from the villages.

Thiru.K.R.Aruchunan MP &Thiru.C.Gopalakrishnan MP distributes loan to women

to construct toilets with Sanghamithra assistance.

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Flood Relief

When the natural calamity hit the Nilgiris district in July 1989 and 2009 a number of huts

collapsed in torrential rains and gusty winds. The organisation workers rushed to the villages

and not only distributed food packets, clothes and utensils but also provided interest free loans

to purchase tiles and repair their houses.

Help to Helpless Tourists

A group of 65 Andhra Pradesh tourists were stranded on the road near the RDO Office as the

bus in which they travelled developed a technical snag. They had to wait for 8 days there. The

organisation arranged free food and shelter for them for eight days. The tourists forgot their

ordeal and returned to their home state thanking the organisation for filling their hearts with

happiness.

A Polio Hit Dalit Boy Turned a Poultry Owner

When the organisation started working in Arangipudurvillage in Kookalpanchayat of the Nilgiris

district, it heard a sad story about the family of Bannari, a landless labourer, who was dejected

in life as his eldest son Sivaraj was a polio victim. Sivaraj was confined to hut as he could not

Flood affected are near Ketti - 2009

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walk to school but seemed to be interested in going to school. The organisation provided

crutches to walk and admitted him in a school run by it.

He evinced keen interest in studies with self-confidence and outperformed his fellow students.

Arrangements were made to admit him in Class IV in the nearby government school. As the

boy’s health was weak, doctor advised him to eat atleast an egg a day. The RDO leadership,

known for an innovative thinking even during crisis, hit upon an idea to help Sivaraj to purchase

a few chickens and look after them so that he could eat the eggs laid by the chickens and

produce more birds and sell them. The idea worked out. He daily collected left over in noon

meal center in his school and grains from the village cooperative stores and fed the birds.

Years rolled by and Sivaraj gradually increased the population of birds. When the RDO field staff

causally visited him one day, he was all praise for RDO Perumal and showed his poultry unit

with 45 birds, saying that “I am standing on my own leg that is poultry”. Today, Sivaraj is elected

as Secretary of Nilgiris District Association for Developmentally Challenge Persons.

Unity of ‘Dickland’ Families Led to Success

Dicklanddalit hamlet with 49 families was orphaned when the RDO team set foot there. It was

almost inaccessible to the outside world as one had to walk through forests to reach the

hamlet. The organisation drew up a number of plans to generate self-employment and approach

the banks for loans to these poor families. The banks refused to give loans for the reason that

the people are living in an unauthorized place. The Dikland village was not existing in the

Coonoor block map. But the RDO did not lose heart and deposited PRs 100,000 at Canara Bank

as security and appealed to the bank manager to sanction loans to these families.

The bank gave loans to 42 families for purchasing milch cows. Earning the decent income by

way of selling milk, they began to realize that their future could be further improved if they

White revolution – Cattle Development promoted by RDO

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worked together. Sensing the unity of the families, the RDO motivated them to cultivate an acre

of waste land by each family in the vicinity of their hamlet.

RDO built a school, appointed a residential teacher, provided teaching and learning materials,

uniforms etc. All the children were provided nutritious noon meal including on holidays.

When the villagers were educationally, economically and socially were improving they became

disappointed as a team of forest officials barged into the hamlet and ordered them to vacate

within no minute. The forest officials claimed that the lands belonged to the forest

department. All the families confronted the officials saying “We won’t vacate the place. We

toiled hard and improved our life standard. We have every right to live here peacefully”.

With the support of RDO, the villagers filed a case in High Court, Chennai. After five years, the

court gave a verdict in favour of the Dickland families.

Battle with a Multi-National Company

The RDO had won many a battle for social, economic and empowerment of the tribal, scheduled

caste and the indigent families. But the fight with Brook Bond Estate in KoundankolliPaniya

Tribal Village was the remarkable one in the history of the Tribes.

Till 30 years ago, a Paniya

tribal village called

Koundankolli, 70 km from

Ooty, was poverty stricken

and never went to school. 52

families had been living in

their mud huts with

thatched roof in a pathetic

condition without basic

facilities such as potable

water and electricity. They

had to walk more than 2 km

in forests to reach bus stop

with a bated breath on

seeing elephant herds every

day.

35 years have rolled down

and now the same tribal

village is economically

independent and literate as

the families are proud

owners of 40 acres of tea

estates and their children

are educated. If the pages

of the past 35 years history of the village are turned one by one, the great man will appear in

the minds of the public, who had taken sustained efforts and fought a do or die battle with

money powered people to uplift this village. The man is none other than Rural Development

Tea Cultivation for Paniya Tribal for Sustainable Livelihood

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Organisation’s founder chairman N.K.Perumal who has been proving that a small grassroots

level NGO could uplift any poverty stricken remote tribal villages, if the head is prepared to face

threats from powerful forces.

Mr.Perumal recalls:”One summer afternoon in April 1987, the RDO team was in Aalavayal Tribal

village near Padanthurai to replace the thatched roof of Paniya tribal huts with tiles. A Paniya

youth named Balan met me and narrated the tale of his village Koundankolli nearby and

requested me to visit his village. We walked 5 km in the forest and reached Koundankolli

village surrounded by lush green hill slope. The scene of 52 families living in mud huts

with thatched roof without basic amenities touched my heart. Their children stayed away

from the schools as they had to walk 2 km stretch of elephant infested foot path. The

tribes went to the nearest forest, collect dead and fallen trees and sold in the nearby

towns. They also used to take their children with them for firewood collection.

At this situation, Perumal volunteered to interact with about 200 Paniyatribals under a huge

jungle tree and encouraged them to educate their children and use natural and human

resources and cultivate waste lands for their livelihood. Next day, Perumal again visited the

village and formed a committee, paid Rs. 5000 and entrusted the job of building a primary

school to the committee. Within a week the tribals put up a shed with mud wall and thatched

roof to start a school, which was opened on Tamil New Year Day, 14 April in 1987. Perumal

happily returned home.

His happiness did not last even for 24 hours as next day the management of Brook Bond

Company reduced the school to ashes claiming that the land belonged to the company. The

company rejected Perumal’s request to restore the school stating the entire Koundankolli

village belonged to it. Unfazed, Perumal strongly argued that the Paniya Tribal community

was primitive and the Brook Bond Company came from England and encroached the

tribe’s land.As his efforts like filing of case and meeting District Collector did not work

Paniya Tribal Children before and after RDO’s Intervention

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out satisfactorily, Perumal decided to stay in the village to fight for the rights of the

Tribals. He slept under the tree for 6 days and led the agitation despite goondas

surrounded them.

Believing in the media, Perumal warned the adamant company that he would approach the BBC

to flash the inhuman and barbarian attitude of the Brook Bond Company. After a ten hour

heated argument between Perumal and the company representatives in the presence of

Revenue Divisional Officer, Gudalur, the company agreed to allocate one acre per family though

Perumal demanded five acre each to a family. The tribals danced and burst crackers as they

became owner of an acre each.

The RDO trust initiated an action to put to full use of their 52 acres of vacant lands taken over

from Book Bond Estate. High breed tea saplings were raised in RDO’s own nursery and the tea

seedlings were planted in their lands. It took four years to give the first yield of green tea leaf.

The trust enrolled all the tribals as members of Salisbury INDCO Tea Co-op Factory. The tribals

started supplying their green tea leaf and got fair price and government subsidy.

Now, the Koundankolli tribal families are proud owners of 40 acres of tea plantation and 12

acres of paddy and ginger field. The market value is Rs. 50 million. The face of entire village is

changed. With the help of

Former Collector SupriyaSahoo and Project Officer of DRDA Mr. PradeepYadav, the RDO built

house to each family, a permanent school is built, uninterrupted water supply is provided,

electricity supply is given to every house and a motarable road is pave. It took more than seven

years for the organisation to realize the dream of making the tribals to be the jubilant owners of

tea gardens and houses.

Testing Time for Kamaraj Nagar Families-RDO Again Won

Tired of roaming from one place to another in search of employment for several years, 63 dalit

families finally settled in Kamaraj Nagar in KilKundah. They built mud huts and eked out a living

by doing casual work. A sad incident was that the priest of a nearby temple considered

these landless dalitlabourers as a bad omen and disliked their presence. He openly

insisted that they should be removed from the place as he could not see the face of the

workers every morning. At this stage, one night when they were asleep, their huts were set on

fire. They rushed out and stood on the road as the raging fire reduced the huts and articles to

ashes.

The RDO Chairman Perumal rushed to the spot, mobilized the people from the neighbouring

villages and protested the evil designs of the Priest. The organisation provided temporary

shelter, clothes and food to the affected families. With RDO’s support, the huts were

rebuilt. They all vowed to unite and pulverize the inhuman designs of the affluent who moved

the court to evict them. The organisation engaged a noted lawyer to fight the case in Ooty

court. The organisation activists and the affected families prayed for justice. The legal battle,

which lasted for two years, ended in favour of the affected. Testing time vanished and peaceful

time came in.

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RDO Satyagraga Saved ‘Koranoor’ Residents

As many as 32dalitlabour families from Coimbatore district migrated to the Nilgiris to toil in

agricultural fields five decades ago. Toiled for a meager wage for several years without a

roofover their head, they managed to build huts in Koranoor, 20 km from Ooty, and were living

peacefully. Suddenly, their huts were burnt and a forest guard forced them to vacate the area

claimingthat the land belonged to the forest department.

The residents along with the RDO field staff walked 20 km and reached the collectorate and

staged a satyagraga. The then collector was kind enough to understand their pathetic

condition and permitted them to live in the revenue lands in the vicinity of the

problematic land. Later, the district administration issued house site patta to the families and

assisted them to build houses under NREP.

The organisation extended an assistance of Rs.1.68 lakh to them to rear goats and cows and

trained sixteen women to undertake collective farming in an area of ten acre waste land near

their village. An interest free loan of Rs.76,500 was given to women who worked hard along

with their husbands to cultivate potato and protect the crops from wild boar on rotation basis.

The bumper yield fetched them a good profit and each woman received a cash

of Rs.18,678. They repaid the loans to the organisation. The Koranoor collective farming

success was repeated in Aramandhu village with a financial assistance to take up geranium

cultivation.

RDO Retrieved Kurumba Tribal Land in Bellathycombai

The Kurumba tribal families in Bellathycombai village were gullible and vulnerable for cheating

by non tribals due to lack of education and awareness of land value and government rules till

the RDO field workers arrived there. Their children remained idle at home or went with their

patients to collect firewood in forests and sell at nearby Manjoor town.

The organisation conducted a study on the problems plaguing the Kurumba village and 34

residents. The study revealed that some non tribals purchased their lands and raised crops for

several years. As the organisation initiated a legal action to retrieve the lands, the non tribals

agreed for an amicable settlement to give back the lands to the Kurumba families. Immediately,

the RDO paid Rs.42,000, redeemed the land and helped the tribals to raise tea in their

lands.

Each family started earning more than Rs.12,000 from the tea cultivation and assured the

organisation to repay the amount given for redemption of their lands. The organisation did not

stop with the retrieval of the lands but constructed a school and appointed a full time teacher to

impart education to the Kurumba children. It also provided noon meal to 24 children for four

years. After that, it took positive steps to convince the government to open a noon meal center

in the village.

RDO Cows-Lifeline for BPL Families in Kollimalai

A word which the RDO always sweeps under carpet is Charity because it firmly believes that

“Charity will destroy development and instead, financial help in the form of loans will boost

Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to work hard, earn more, repay dues and finally stand on

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their own. This is the organisation’s mantra which proved a success in Kollimalai Kota tribal

village and surrounding dalitvillages such as Semanthada, Gandhi Pudur and Onikandy.

The organisationcommenced the cow breeding scheme in the village after it got a nod from

Canara Bank and District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). The BPL families showed keen

interest in rearing cows and produced more milk. Nilgiris District Cooperative Milk Producers

Union (NDCMPU) sent Lorries twice daily-morning and evening-to transport milk from the

village to the NDCMPU, now called Aavin. A study conducted eight months after the scheme was

launched revealed that for the first time, they started consuming milk, butter milk and curd as

part of their food.

Satisfied with the performance of the village, CoonoorCanara Bank came forward to sanction

loans for milch cows for the second time. The bank sanctioned loans to the tune of Rs.12 lakh

due to the efforts of the organisation. The daily milk collection fetched 1000 liters and the

household economy of the villagers doubled within year.

Grocery Shop Changed the Life of Ramasamy in VOC Nagar

Ramasamy, a landless labourer in VOC Nagar in NedugulaPanchayat of the Nilgiris district, was

struggling every day to feed his six children-four sons and two daughters. He was unable to send

his children to schools and feed them adequately as his income was too inadequate. When the

RDO organized awareness camps about education, self-employment and economic

development, Ramasamy sought a financial assistance to operate a grocery shop as there was no

such a shop in the village. The organisation gave an interest free loan and the duo opened a

grocery shop. They did a roaring business as there were no such shops in and around the

village. They earned a satisfactory income and promptly repaid the loan.

Ramasamy, with folded hands, recalled his tearful old story and RDO made new happy story:”In

fact, grocery shop is a rebirth to me because I could at least send my younger children to schools

due to the income derived from the shop. Earlier, my elder children remained idle, staying away

from schools. I am still happy because my younger wards become graduates. I speak from my

heart that RDO is a light in my dark life”.

Skill Training for the Educated for Self Employment

Since the educated youth

in the rural areas were

unable to find suitable

jobs the RDO thought that

it was imperative to

impart skill training in

eight trades. Serious

efforts were initiated to

train the educated boys

and girls in the trades

namely Cutting, Tailoring

and Embroidery, Hand

Knitting and Machine Skill Training to Rural Women

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Knitting, Typewriting and Secretarial course, Synthetic Gem Cutting, Coir Mat Making, Pottery,

Motor Vehicle Driving, Steel Fabrication and Steel Work and Carpentry. A group of Toda youth

from Kollimalai village was sent to Somanur, Kerala for blacksmith training.

Haridass a Best Example in Self Employment

After the training was completed, hundreds of boys and girls started self-employment and

shone in life. One best example was Haridass of Doddani village, 17 km from Kotagiri. He

underwent training in sheet metal and steel fabrication work and also underwent an apprentice

in one of the sheet metal units in Coimbatore and returned home. He expressed his desire to

start a workshop in his village and give jobs to the educated youths. Welcoming the idea, the

RDO studied the feasibility of the proposal and came to a conclusion that it would be a viable

one. It extended a financial assistance and other necessary helps to establish a workshop.

Further, it recommended him to avail a loan from District Industry Centre (DIC), which was kind

enough to sanction a loan of Rs.35,000. In addition RDO paid Rs.50,000.

Haridass reached the pinnacle of happiness and provided jobs to six youths in his village. This

apart, a few others were given training on sheet metal and steel fabrication in the workshop.

Like Haridass, many educated youths evinced keen interests in self-employment.

Badaga Mother’s Last Wish at Death Bed

With the RDO rendering its services in all villages irrespective of caste, community and religion

in the hill district, the genuine socio-economic development works carried out by the RDO led

by its Founder N.K.Perumal touched the hearts of the elderly persons and children. Many

described Perumal as a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and Father of Constitution Ambedkar.

During one mid-night, Kailshola village Bella Gowder’s wife had premonition that she should

attain Samadhi in the next few hours. She expressed her last wish to see Perumal before

God’s invitation to the heaven. Bella Gowder’s son in law rushed to the residence of Perumal at

mid night and narrated the story. Stunned, Perumal stood motionless for a few seconds, rushed

to the village and shed tears on seeing the Badaga mother at death bed. With the tears flowing

down her cheeks, the Badaga mother blessed Perumal in Badaga dialect. All the residents

gathered and shed tears.

Within the few hours of the incident, the Badaga mother departed from the world permanently.

RDO Saved the Life of a 12 Year Old Girl Patient

RDO Perumal, the name familiar with the people of the Nilgiris because of RDO’s humane

services and economic development activities, is kind enough to go to any extent to save the life

of the poor children. Though thousands of people benefited by the RDO medical camps, it took

titanic efforts to mobilize adequate funds for the treatment of Selvi, a 12 year old daughter of a

landless labourerPalanisamy of Gandhipudur Nagar, 14 km from Ooty. Selvi had often

complained of chest pain and had been continuously suffering as the pain kept increasing.

While Perumal was playing with former Golf Captain.R.Rajagopal, who was the then Director of

G Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial (GKNM) Hospital, Perumal narrated the pathetic story of Selvi.

With the help of Mr. Rajagopal, a team of specialists in GKNM hospital recommended surgery for

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Atrial Septal Defect and asked Seliv’s father to pay Rs 36,000 for an immediate

operation. Palanisamy was shocked and was wailing without knowing what to do. Perumal

succeeded in mobilizing the funds through his sustained efforts. He himself contributed Rs 8000

and the remaining came from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund-Rs.13,000, Chief Minister’s Relief

Fund-Rs.11,000, Coonoor Chengappa-Rs.1000, Lion Boriah-Rs.1000, Lions Club of Ooty-Rs.700

and Parents of the patient-Rs.2,000. The total amount was Rs.36,700 which was the exact fee for

the successful surgery performed on May 11, 1993.

Appreciations and Awards for Outstanding Contribution of RDO

The RDO won the applause of the Indians and Foreigners for its best work and service in rural

backward areas.

Vimala Devi BecharryPanary of Mauritius scribbled-“There are no words of how to express my

admiration for what you and your organisation are doing for the rural people. Indeed, I am

thankful to you for all the good deeds you are doing to come into the help for these poor people.

May God bless you and your organisation and may your Organisation prosper more and more”.

His Excellency Surjith Singh Barnala Governor of Tamil Nadu – RDO Founder

Chairman Mr.N.K.Perumal translate Governors speech

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Similarly, Jeanne K.Noyetabura of Tanzania penned-“I wish to express my appreciation for the

work done in the RDO but I would like to commend you also for the outreaching heart and the

sacrificial cause you have taken up for the benefit of the most disadvantaged people. May God

bless you abundantly”.

VISIT of DIGNITARIES to RDO

Beside Parliamentarians, Ministers and Governors within India, many dignitaries from UN, ILO,

International Development Agencies, and University students from Africa, Asia, North America

and Europe visited RDO.

Russian Consul-General H.E. Nikolay and Trichy Mayor SarubalaThondaman in a RDO

function

COLLECTORS GAVE an IMPETUS to RDO

There is a misunderstanding and mistrust between NGOs and Government. If Government

sector and NGO sector work together remarkable achievements can be made. NGOs must

understand that it cannot supplement the Government but can supplant the Government efforts.

The RDO is working closely with district administration from its inception.

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Nilgiris Collector Smt. ArchanaPatnaik and Japan Consul –General Tomonori Minowa

declared open RDO Training Centre built with the support of Government of Japan in

2011.

A Comprehensive Study on Tribal Health Tradition & Folk Medicine

Rural Development Organisation made a comprehensive study on Revitalisation of Local Tribal

Health Traditions and Folk Medicines under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,

Tribal Folk Medicine Research by RDO

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Government of India. The outcome of the study is documented and preserved for the future

generation of the tribal communities of the Nilgiris district. The document is immensely useful

to the students of Siddah and Ayurveda Colleges around the world.

JANUARY 11, 2005 a RED LETTER DAY

January 11, 2005 is a red letter day in the successful history of the RDO because the day marked

the Silver Jubilee. This day cannot be forgotten by the people of the hill district in general and

the organisationin particular because almost the entire hill station congregated at Gandhi

Maidan, Ooty to witness the Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

About 30,000 people from every nook and corner of the coolant Nilgiris district took a colourful

mega procession. The procession started from ATC, went through Main Bazzar and gathered at

HADP Open Air Stadium. The crowd was spontaneous. The tourist town of Ooty wore a festive

look. The happiness on the faces of rural men and women kept the hill town of Ooty smiling.

Mrs.ClairCalassi, Secretary General, Aide et Action, Mr.Chiru, IAS, then Project Director of Hill

Area Development Programme (HADP), and Mr.MaheshDayal, IPS, then superintendent of

Police, Nilgiris, made a fantastic speech and kept the huge crowd a spellbound. The VIPs were

so happy that they spoke from their deep heart that they had not seen such a big and well-

disciplined crowd. The men and women who actively and happily participated in the jubilant

Silver Jubilee of RDO held at Ooty – 11.01.2005

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procession did a good job at the end of the programme. They collected Rs.1.65 lakh and donated

to district administration for Tsunami relief works

TSUNAMI REHABILITATION WORK

A few prominent international Aid agencies approached RDO and urged it to take up Tsunami

Rehabilitation works. Mr. Perumal suggested that only local NGOs should be engaged in

Tsunami affected areas to work in a fast way because they were aware of the immediate

problems and requirements of the fishermen and their areas due to their direct connection with

them.

However, Mr. Perumal volunteered to visit the Tsunami affected areas and identify local NGOs

to take up the challenging task. He stayed in Tsunami affected areas in Sri Lanka (Galle and

Tricomale) and Nagapattinam and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu for three months and identified

four NGOs, two in Sri Lanka and two in Tamil Nadu. These NGOs had completed the Tsunami

rehabilitation works to the satisfaction of the government, donor and the public.

ADVOCACY and LOBBYING

Besides being active in the Nilgiris, the RDO continues to involve itself in Advocacy and

Lobbying at the national and global levels for the betterment of the people and implementation

of the relevant projects. It is appropriate to recall that the RDO had played a significant role in

enacting Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act. In 1989, a dedicated team from Tamil

Nadu led by Mr.N.K Perumal stayed at Pune in Maharastra and made an in-depth study on

Maharastra Employment Guarantee Act.

Subsequently, the RDO brought 246 grassroots level NGOs in Tamil Nadu under the banner of Joint Action Council of Voluntary Agencies (JACVA). The JACVA team visited every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu and mobilized the agricultural workers to lobby for Maharastra pattern of Employment Guarantee Act. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi released the audio cassette produced by RDO in the presence of half a million people in Rajapalayam. Consequent to the efforts made by JACVA, Tamil Nadu Government introduced Employment Guarantee Scheme. Following this, the Government of India enacted the Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

RDO FOCUSES ON EDUCATION FOR MIGRATORY CHILDREN (EMC)

Due to shortage of labour in tea plantation sector a large number of tribes of the poverty and

Maoist stricken areas from Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarhand West Bengal are migrating

to the Nilgiris to work in plantation. Though the parents are gainfully employed in estates their

children were wandering in and around tea estates and jungles in the Nilgiri hills.

Fearing that the migratory children may be trapped by the anti-social elements as India is one

of the vulnerable countries for child trafficking, the RDO decided to impart education to these

children.

As the outsiders including NGOs cannot enter private tea estates without prior permission of the

management, the RDO approached the Nilgiris Planters Association (NPA) and apprised of its

plan to enroll the migratory children in schools in April 2011. The NPA gave a green signal to

the orgranisation to implement the EmC project efficiently.

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The main objectives of the EmCproject are to integrate the migratory children with local

children and eliminate home sick feeling from their minds and attain holistic development

of the migratory children through quality education with community participation.

While the estate managements provided buildings to run schools, the Vedanta supported for

Staff salaries, learning/teaching materials, supply of uniforms, warm cloths, noon meal etc. As

planned, the RDO enrolled all the 631 children in Government schools for sustainable education

programme.

A migratory child carrying his sister to RDO School

RDO ADVOCATES for a Minimum SUPPORT PRICE for GREEN TEA LEAF

The migration of the Nilgiris boys and girls to other districts in search of employment in

garment and hospitality industries is on the rise largely because of un-remunerative prices for

green tea leaves. As per the 2011 census, the Nilgiris population is 7,35,071 which is minus 3.55

per cent compared to the 2001 census. It is an indication that the migration will continue in the

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years to come. If the trend goes unchecked and remedial measures are not taken, the tea estates,

the lifeline for 65,000 small grower families comprising 3.00 lakh members and thousands of

plantation labourers, will be in the hands of outsiders for promoting real estate business.

Already, many have sold their small tea gardens and vegetable farms for construction of

commercial buildings such as cottages and guest houses.

The small growers are not getting fair price for their green tea leaves due to globalization and

poor quality of tea leaves in the hill district. 30 percent of tea bushes in small growers’ tea

gardens are 60 to 100 years old and the rest are 20 to 40 years old that have not been

maintained professionally. As a result, quality tea leaves cannot be produced. It is a fact that

unless the small tea growers uproot their decades old tea bushes and replace with high quality

tea seedlings, a good price cannot be expected. The future of the small tea growers’ children will

become a question mark. The Tea Board has drawn a master plan for tea up gradation. There is

no iota of doubt that if the small tea growers follows the terms and conditions of Tea Board the

small growers can double their income. RDO is working with Tea Board by forming farmers

Societies

There is a console for the tea growers as Government of Tamil Nadu has come forward to rescue

the small tea growers by providing a subsidy of Rs.2 per kg. But, fixing a minimum floor price

for green tea leaves is the permanent solution to prevent migration and eradicate poverty. The

government should fix a price for green tea leaves on the line of the support price fixed for

paddy and sugar cane and periodical enhancement. The floor price is very possible if the

Women SHG working in a Tea Garden leased by them

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Defense Ministry comes forward to buy tea directly from tea factories in the Nilgiris rather than

buying from middlemen for its one million staff in India.

OPEN DEFECATION FREE (ODF) DISTRICT PROGRAM

The RDO continues to be active at the gross root level since its inception in 1980. It feels proud

of its achievements again and again, thanks to the tireless efforts of the dedicated staff, like

minded supporters and partners. Having played a paramount role in the development of many a

project for the welfare of the poor and the downtrodden, the organization is committed to

making the Nilgiris a defecation free district. For the purpose, it has taken a concrete decision to

assist one lakh families to construct toilets in the district in next 10 years.

Mr.N.K. Perumal, Director of Rural Development Organisation, has deeply studied the feasibility

of the Open Defecation Free (ODF) programme and drawn up an action to implement it in a

transparent manner. Since it is a huge project to be executed involving male and female

members in each of one lakh families in the district, transparency is paramount at each stage.

Hence, the organisation has a concrete plan to assist 10,000 families to build toilets per year as

inadequate sanitation is a significant problem in the district. It is rampant particularly in the

rural and tribal belts of the district due to lack of knowledge and resources. Approximately 72

percent of the total population of 7,35,071 living in 2,36,021 houses have no access to

sanitation facilities. This problem needs to be addressed before the scale of disease reaches an

epidemic proportion. .

Hence, in order to achieve open defecation free in the Nilgiri hills, the organisation is working

with the rural masses and motivating them to build individual household latrines. The

objectives of the organisation are to achieve open defecation free in target area, prevent health

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION – Mr.GeorgeVergheese of Water Aid interacts with

RDO Team

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hazards that affects the rural people especially women and girls due to non-availability of

latrines at homes and schools, improve the village atmosphere, protect the environment

and prevent pollution of rivers, streams and wells.

HONOUR for RDO

The Government of Tamil Nadu appointed RDO founder Mr.N.K.Perumal as Chairman of Tamil

Nadu State voluntary Resource Centre and Director of Tamil Nadu Corporation for Women

Development in recognition of RDO’s services and achievements.

Aide et Action international appointed Perumal as its Broad Member. He is the only board

member from NGO sector in the world. The FINISH sponsored by the Netherlands based WASTE

also appointed Perumal as its Board member.

Mr.Perumal’s speech on Sanitation delivered at united Nation University (UNU) Maastricht,

Holland is highlighted in FINISH Net. The organisation is presently representing several

committees in the Nilgiris district.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION in Action in the Nilgiris , Tamil Nadu

The Nilgiris district is second worst district in terms of practicing open defecation. Out of

1,97,653 houses, 94,437 houses have no access to toilets. The Nilgiris is an unique hill

station in terms of demographic, altitude and climate. About 36% SC & ST Population are

living in the Nilgiris. The altitude is 2000 meters above sea level.The temperature is 0

degree to 25 degree.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION – A RDO beneficiary

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In order to implement Swatch Bharat Mission successfully, more than 100,000 Tribal, Dalit and

Badaga women scattered in various parts of the Nilgiris district are being brought under Self-

help Groups (SHG) by the organisation. It is also training the SHGs to run their group

professionally to avail loans from the financial institutions to construct household toilets. The

training will help the SHGs to qualify for loans, increase SHGs in project area, respond to

changes in social customs, help students to urge their parents to construct toilets and ultimately

help to raise Rs.200crore to construct 100000 household toilets.

Contractors are not being allowed in the construction of household latrines and the

beneficiaries themselves will be encouraged to build. Before beneficiaries take up the

construction works, the professionals will give training to local masons to construct cost

effective and stable toilets by using appropriate rural technology. Since the Nilgiris experiences

gusty winds and rains for 7 months, toilets must be constructed with solid materials and

concrete roof. The local experience estimates the minimum cost to construct a household toilet

at Rs.25,000. Therefore, it is mandatory for each beneficiary to contribute labour worth

Rs.5000.

To accomplish the ambitious goal, the RDO successfully negotiated Canara Bank, Bank of India,

IDBI, ICICI, Nilgiris District Central Co-op Bank, Sanghamithra Rural Financial Services to join

hands with RDO to implement Swachh Bharat Mission. As on 31.12.2014, Twenty One Thousand

and Two Hundred families are assisted to build disabled/elders friendly household toilets at a

cost of Rs.42 crore and fourty lakhs.

SWACCH BHARAT MISSION in North India

The RDO is working with Lucknow based FINISH (Finanacial Inclusion Helps to Improve

Sanitation and Health) in UP, MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha and

Maharastra to implement Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). 520000 individual families are

assisted to build toilets with a loan assistance of 360 crores. Thanks to Amul, Vedanta and

various banks and MFIs. The project is implemented through Lucknow based NGO FINISH

(Financial Inclusion Improved Sanitation and Health)

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RDO / FINISH Activities in North India

Jharkhand

Bihar Udaipur - Rajasthan

Uttar Pradesh Udaipur - Rajasthan

Odisha

Udaipur - Rajasthan Maharastra School Toilet - Jharkhand

Odisha

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