Rural Development Trust (RDT) is a registered nongovernmental organization and has been working with children, women and unorganized sectors from 1992 in Chengalpet district, (then Kancheepuram District), Tamil Nadu, India. The vision and mission of the organization is being realized and revisited through various activities in the thrust areas of Nutrition, health, Education, employment and housing, which are enshrined as basic needs by World Health Organization.
The primary concern of the organization is to work with children, who are in need. The organization identifies the children who are dropouts, child labourers, differently abled, orphans, semi orphans, migrants, gypsies, living in slums, disadvantaged; refugees, living on streets, tribal, scheduled caste and vulnerable sections. They are enabled and enhanced through educational activities in order to make their future life successful. RDT also takes strategic efforts in maintaining the health of the children through child care centres, special schools, medical camp and extra-curricular activities. RDT includes women folk as its secondary intervention. Working with women brings visible changes in the life of the families and women also feel dignified. Women who are widows, deserted, destitute, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, migrants, Gypsies, homeless, unemployed, young and excluded are being organized through various motivational sessions and preparing them to initiate income generating activities. RDT also works with unorganized labourers for obtaining their rights through welfare board and accomplishing their livelihood needs through the government.
Rural Development Trust works in 45 villages which encompass the three blocks namely Thiruporur, Kattankulathur and St.Thomas mount in Chengalpet and Chennai Districts. The organization has been a pioneer in conducting special schools for the migrant children for the past 15 years. Children of migrant construction workers, who have come from Bihar, Chattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, are taught in Telugu, Oriya, Hindi and Tamil. Children are provided educational materials, Uniforms, food, medicine and scholarship are given at free of cost.
RDT also has done extensive services in many areas of development. Organic farming, financial assistance for income generation activities, self-help groups water accessibility for agriculture, medical assistance for disadvantaged, deepening water resources, free medical aid, renovating government schools educational assistance, liberating bonded labourer’s, rehabilitation services, assistance to unorganized workers Relief activities during disaster, providing vehicle support to the sick are the essential services of the organization.
The availability of qualified staff members and special educators who work with differently abled are its strengths to deliver services in a professional manner. All the board members in the organization have 30 years of experience in working with children, women and unorganized sectors. All these capacities, expertise and experiences make the organization explicit in delivering suitable services for the benefits of the target groups in the districts.