The Rural Institute for Development Education http://www.rideindia.org(RIDE) is a secular, non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 dedicated to empower poor and disadvantaged residents in rural Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Founded in 1984, RIDE fights to eradicate child labour, promotes economic and social justice

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

 for women, provides essential medial and educational services and cultivates economic opportunities throughout the region.

RIDE's Successes

In 1997, RIDE’s research indicated that the number of child labourers in the silk-weaving industry in the district of Kanchipuram exceeded 40,000. This included children who were bonded labourers to loom owners. RIDE undertook many activities to improve the situation of child labourers. Examples include: conducting surveys, providing information, organizing demonstrations, seminars and workshops, the support of financial alternatives and the establishment of RIDE’s Bridge School Center’s and evening schools. Working collaboratively, RIDE brought down the number of child labourers to less than 4,000 by 2007.

RIDE’s Bridge Schools have measurable success in providing a pathway to mainstream education. 95% of students who commence at Bridge Schools complete the program and enroll in the public school system. Of these graduates 90% still attend school after 12 months.

For women RIDE stimulates empowerment through the establishment of Self Help

Self-help

Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...

 Groups and a micro loan

Microcredit

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit...

 program. RIDE provides training to instill self-confidence

Self-esteem

Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...

, supports activities that generate income and promotes economic self-reliance. As one of the first organizations in Tamil Nadu to facilitate Self Help Groups, RIDE now supports more than 1500 Self Help Groups in 295 villages.

For the general rural population RIDE conducts training in vocational skills and income generation through its Rural Entrepreneur Development programs. 80% of new enterprises established after the training are still operating after 12 months.

RIDE increasingly focuses on improving water supply

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

 and sanitation systems in rural villages. RIDE conducts awareness programs on health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

, sanitation, hygiene, HIV/AIDS, road safety

Road-traffic safety

The term road traffic safety is about the risk of a person being killed or seriously injured while using the road network as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorist or user of on road public transport...

 and voters rights. As the need arises RIDE participates in other community campaigns, such as disaster relief

Emergency management

Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...

 after the Tsunami. Early 2004 RIDE sourced and distributed over 7 million Indian rupee

Indian rupee

The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....

s worth of medicine and supplies to the affected areas in its region.