TARGET AREA

  • EXACT GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

Our project area is Villianur Commune Panchayat of Pondicherry Union Territory, South India. The villages are situated 10 k.m. away from Pondicherry town, where the Administrative office is situated.

            Our target villages are spread over in 25 kilometres diameter. The population of the Villianur Commune Panchayat is 1,14,285 spread over in 45 villages.

  • GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE POPULATION IN THE PROJECT AREA:

            The density in Villianur Commune Panchayat is 450. Average size of the family is 5. The population is predominantly Hindus about 87%. The second most followed religion is Islam with 10% and the remaining 3% are Christians belonging to different denominations.

BENEFICIARY POPULATION:

The majority of helped people come from Dalit community.

Dalits (means « untouchable ») are people born from parents issued of the lowest caste of Hindu system. Cast system was funded 3000 years ago by the invaders of India, called “the Aryans”. Now, the caste system includes religious and social difference. Some people include also skin’s colour difference between Indian people in the caste system.

This system is composed of many different castes. But, only two are known by everybody: Brahmins are priest and intellectuals, and Dalits who aren’t considered as Human but only as impure.

For a long time, Dalits were legally exploited by others. Now, they are helped by laws created by Ambedkar, the first law ministry of the free India.

But today, this hierarchy is really integrated in Indian culture. Consequently, Dalits live in particular areas, only for them (villages or quarter), venerate different gods in private temples, aren’t owner of lands, has to do the worst tasks as washer men and all works which others dislike to do, get lower salary than the other workers, and cannot have a job with responsibility or a political job.

However, the Government created a system of reservations exclusively for Dalit people. So, nowadays, due to this system, some Dalits can work in the government.

Dalit people are the poorest people of India. As a result, they are the most exposed to dangers and difficulties coming from poverty:

  • Missing of education;
    • Child labour ;
    • Dangerous diseases as Typhus, Malaria, Dengue, AIDS,… ;
    • Professional exploitation ;
    • Bad sanitary conditions.