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Rural Education and Environment Development Service (REEDS)
In 1994 a group of University Degree holders, social activists, women leaders, Dalit activists and socially committed priests promoted "REEDS", Rural Education and Environment Development Service, for comprehensive social action among the outcast people, poor, marginalized, and most vulnerable section of the society in the region of Erode District, Tamil Nadu - India.
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Mr.I.Jayaseelan is the founding Director of the REEDS foundation. He belongs to a Dalit community and came across several struggles in his own life during his childhood. During his college days he was a very active member of the Christian University students movement. Through this movement he was involved with social welfare activities in the poor Dalit villages in Tamil Nadu and participated in various regional and national seminars on Dalit Rights. He participated in the Asian Social Forum at Hyderabad, World Social Forum at Mumbai, Third World Rural Womens Conference of Agriculture at Madrid (Spain), various Rotary International meetings in the Netherlands and various international seminars focusing on poverty reduction through various rural development programmes. |
REEDS actively supports and puts effort in creating a justifiable and sustainable society by creating a conducive environment with the involvement of all the people with social concern. REEDS strives to optimize the potential within the organization as well as its referral communities and its partner agencies.
REEDS' vision is inspired by human values. REEDS visualizes a society in which peace, justice and equality prevail in all communities irrespective of caste, creed, religion and language. REEDS also envisages a society where the poor, oppressed, underprivileged and the marginalized people have equal opportunities to develop themselves to their fullest potential in an appropriate environment.
REEDS believes that a justifiable and sustainable society starts by the United Nations Millennium Development Goal: Achieve universal primary education.
The target is to ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.
Erode District is one of the western Districts of Tamil Nadu. The community is broken by caste structures. The total population of the District is 27,00,973 among them 22% belongs to Dalit communities (outcaste people). They are deprived of their basic rights to a dignified life and livelihood.
The District is drought prone. The land is barren and largely depend one river fed and open well irrigation, which again is at the mercy of seasonal rains. 85% of the people depend on agricultural activities and allied works which last for only three months per year; during the off-season they migrate to nearby towns and cities in the search for jobs.
For these poor people it is difficult to find a job and they suffer socio-economic, health and psychological problems. Parents send their children to work. This is why child labour is highly prevalent among the Dalit community children in the District. On the 28th of September 2004, 52 children were rescued in a spinning mill factory in Erode.
For information on how we help our target groups please take a look at Our Activities.