THE VILLAGE FOUNDATION SOCIAL WELFARE TRUST

(Vilfost Non Government Organization)

Women's development Women's status in Thiruvannamalai District is extremely low. Poor, dalit women suffer discrimination on multiple fronts. As children they do not receive the same nourishment or medical treatment afforded to their brothers. Their education rarely goes beyond primary school. Their marriages are arranged and they have no choice about where they live or how many children they have. They do more work than their husbands but receive half the pay. Even their participation in local politics is dominated by men. As dalits, they are made to sit on the floor. VST works with women to lift this oppression. The lynchpin of all this work is the 'self-help group'.  How does a self-help group come about and how does it help women? Community health Unlike our other activities, preventative health is not a high priority for the people we work with. They have more immediate concerns such as feeding their children or repairing the roof before the monsoon starts. However, our partners continue with activities such as testing pregnant women for anaemia to prevent miscarriage. Using a few simple and cheap methods early on can avert a whole host of health problems.   Who does this work?

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