Rural Women Development Trust

Rural Women Development Trust is a registered nonprofit charity organization in Tharamanagalam, Salem District, Tamil Nadu. Dedicated members of the D Read morealit Arunthathiyar community started the organization in 2000, and in 2005 it achieved registration under The Trust Registration Act of India. It has a central office in Tharamangalam, and conducts ongoing projects in rural remote villages throughout western Salem District. The organization is led primarily by local women. Three of the five board members are women. We are working for women and children's education and Empowerment. The primary focus of the organization is the rescue and rehabilitation of Dalit Arunthathiya debt-bonded laborers, an exploited social class that is often treated as slaves. The director, Alamelu Bannan, is a Dalit Arunthathiya and was forced into debt-bonded labor as a young child. After her teacher freed her by paying her family’s debt, she devoted her life to ending bonded labor and the social injustices that cause it.  Vision:  Envisions a society wherein the deprived people (Dalit Arunthathiar) including those of the Dalit are empowered to enjoy their rights and socio-economic status at par with the mainstream communities. Mission : To rescue and rehabilitate Dalit families from bonded labor, stand up against social injustice, to train women with sustainable vocational skills, and help them attain economic independence, access to quality education, and healthcare facilities.