WHAT WE DO: Some Case Studies
J.Mastony - a boy in one of our children's homes
My parents were agricultural labourers without any property other than a hut of palm leaves. When the monsoon failed they could not get work and went to Mumbai, leaving me and my sister behind with my grandmother. In Mumbai they found work on a building site but my mother developed a relationship with the building contractor. My father asked her to go back home, but the building contractor beat him up. He returned to the village with severe injuries and was so disturbed that we had to put him in a mental hospital. My mother never returned. My grandmother made a few rupees by looking after cattle for a local land owner, but we could not survive on this and I could not fulfil my dream of an education.
Fortunately I heard about CECOWOR's home for boys and got admitted. I am so happy here. CECOWOR pays for all school expenses, I have many friends and I can visit my sister and grandmother sometimes.
Kannan - an elderly person 'adopted' by our women's self-help group
Kannan is 65 years old and has no relations; he begs for food in the street. A year ago he was severely ill and nearly died. His village has several women's self help groups(SHGs) founded by CECOWOR and they wanted to help him. They took him to hospital and then decided to formally adopt him before the local authorities. Now they provide him with shelter, food, clothes and medicines.
Deepa - lower-caste but a leader in her village with CECOWOR's help
Miss K Deepa is from a remote village. She belongs to the lowest caste group (Vannar or Dhoby) who have to wash the other villagers' clothes, in return for a handful of cooked food from every home. Deepa is a brilliant girl and was encouraged by CECOWOR to study until fourteen. So she had more education than any other woman in the village and was the natural choice as leader of a self help group. The villagers were reluctant to accept a lower-caste girl as their leader but did so with CECOWOR's encouragement.
Deepa is a very competent leader and has obtained funding for her self help group. She has also started training other group leaders and so earns some money. Recently the PLF (Panchayat level federation) she is leading got a cash prize of Rs.10,000 from the Government as the best functioning PLF in the district.