In addition to this
injustice we suffered the 'untouchability' behaviour of the upper caste
people who regarded us as less than human. We also suffered the taunts
of the children of these people. I was deeply troubled by this cruelty
and became determined to serve my community and seek to check the behaviour
of the high caste people towards us.
I married a social
worker in 1983. He was from a poor family like myself and neither of
us could pay dowry.
For the next two years we did social work together for the Village Community
Development Society, Tindivanam, near Madras. I worked with quarry workers,
salt workers, landless agricultural workers and women. I engaged in
an analysis of the socio, economic, cultural and political factors which
determined the day-to-day life of the people. This provided me with
many insights which were to help me with my work later in life.
In 1985 I came to
the Tirunelveli District with my husband and we started our own organisation,
RACES. For three years we had no outside funding. I used my own savings
and appointed five people for work in ten villages. Between 1988 and
1990 we received a grant from KFO (Austria) which brought hope to the
women we were working with. For three years we received no funds but
in 1993 we received a small grant from the Peoples Education for Action
and Liberation based in Madurai for helping agricultural labourers.
In 1998 we received a grant from War on Want (Northern Ireland) for
teaching Dalits an awareness of their rights and a grant from FIOH UK
for income generating activities for tribal people. This was used to
provide cows and goats and to teach sewing to women.
For the past two
years we have not received any grants and my husband and I have had
to do coolie work and our seven staff have continued to work with us
despite receiving little pay. We have recently helped widows, oldage
people and disabled people into an association named Grama Surabi. We
have been able to offer a loan of Rs 50,000 (about £700) to this
group and they have been micro enterprises. There is a great need but
we cannot help further unless we receive more financial support.
