The Institute of Community Development Services (ICDS), registered during 1980 started its’ work in the villages, in full swing from 1985 onwards (i.e.,) initially in the villages of Thirupporur Block of Kancheepuram District of Tamilnadu, South India.
At the time, we started our work, the villagers were totally unaware of their rights in the society as well as their obligations to achieve the same. Majority of them were illiterate and landless labourers. Majority of the Thiirupporur Block residents were dalits and living in huts. They were un-organized and leading their lives with whatever little earnings with the habit of spending the hard earned money, in liquors. Women discriminated in the wages and their entry into the public areas were prohibited and thus, totally the plight of the women during those times were bad and sad.
To change these situation, ICDS promoted women associations in each village and intensified the work. The programs designed were, based on the following objectives:-

Staff Meeting

• To get initially aware about their present status in the community, as a whole; and act against the impediments to get rid of all the evil forces.
• Woman had to come away from the male domination.
• The situation of women in the educational front had to be improved; Child labour system in their village should be abolished.
• Women should aware about the legal rights, health care system, and family welfare measures.
• Woman should have the basic awareness on the freedom of the women in home and society; Marriage counselling is also important to them.
• Women should fight against all the evil forces in the society and work unitedly to take the villages issues.
• Economic improvement was also one of the objectives in women liberation.
• With fullest confidence, the women had to march towards progress by gaining political power in the society.

Rally at Kelambakkam

With the view to achieve the above, suitable training modules were initially designed by the ICDS team. It is important to note that, the ICDS team, consisting of qualified staff members, earlier undergone series of capacity building training programs at various places all over India
All the training programmes were thus designed by these staff members, to enable achieving required results, based on the objectives of the program . ICDS was the first Organization, that promoted the sense of equality among men and women , cautioned the populace for the need of co-operation among them, the right to their schemes from the Government and so on.
To prove this claim, the following excerpt can be quoted, which was published in INDIAN Express during 1993: “For the first time in the district, a voluntary organization, Institute of Community Development Services (ICDS), has been operating successfully a grass-root savings cum credit scheme among its members spread over 24 hamlets in and around Kelambakkam” ( Thanks: Indian Express)
After some period of time, the women in majority of the villages, started to achieve the following:


Women's day Celebration
• All were cautious of womens’ oppression and realise their rights in the society.
• They have come out of the houses, to involve themselves, in decision-making process.
• They started operating through their own womens’ forum / SHG, resulted with engaging themselves in their main activities like savings, lending and availed loans and subsidies from their concerned Banks,.

Alltogether, 750 women organization, otherwise called self help groups (SHGs), with the membership of more than 15000 were formed by ICDS; They were all trained by our staff members, who were all already equipped with enough expertise derived from more than 100 staff training programs conducted then and there.
Thus, the following training programs were conducted for all women leaders and core group members from the villages from the project area, before ICDS start its’ regular programs and schemes:-

• Leadership training to core group members.
• Animators training.

Participation in the govt Rally at Kancheepuram
• Periodical orientation on womens development.
• Leadership motivation with reference to political awareness.
• Orientation training on legal rights.
• Orientation on community health education, with reference to the health rights.
• Entrepreneur development Training (EDP).
• Membership education to the Community Organization –village wise.
• Orientation to Core-group members to enable achieving confidence to undertake village issues.
• Human resource development aspects.
• Issues of vision and values for Team – building.
• Training on social analysis.
• Training on PMRY.
• Management Development Training to youths & special Training on Child labour issues.

AIDS Rally at Vandalur

ICDS succeeded in the following aspects:-
- Successful management of self-help groups by the villagers
- Women undertaking community development activities
- Women acquiring non-formal skills
- Women undertaking all issues related to village’s, as well as womens’ development
So far(i.e.,) upto 1994, more than 1000 training programs of this kind as mentioned above were conducted for the villagers, which were all sponsored initially by private agencies like B.H. Misereor e.V., and Zentrelstelle of West Germany, APHD of Netherland, Caritas India and Indo German Social Service Society of New Delhi. The offshoot of the training program should be finally the action-oriented joint efforts by the women.
The following were some of the joint efforts carried out from the beginning (i.e.,) from 1985 onwards:-


Human Chain at Chingleput by ICDS
• Thaiyur Panchayat , located adjacent to Kelambakkam consisted of about 20 hamlet villages, with the majority population of SCs.; HERE, AT Thaiyur, 7 k.m. long road which was earlier fromed was badly damaged; Besides this 7 kms stretch road, have women associations of ICDS. They had at several times knocked at the doors of the Government for laying of good road. As the efforts could not fetch positive result the village associations jointly decided to work on their own to form the 7 kms stetch Road; 25 days-long road camp was thus organized and about 150 women members joined hands and the road was thus formed.
• Through self help groups sofar around seven crores of the amount was saved and deposited by these 750 SHGs in about 14 Banks, situated in the surrounding areas., where they have their accounts. The total loan availed by them is approximately cross 10 crores rupees.
• Every year, during March 8th, the International Womens’ Day was celebrated by these women organizations in a bigger way. Averagely 1000 women members use to participate. During some special occasions, about 5000 members participated.

Rally at Chingleput by Dr. Federahon
• Various skill training as well as vocational training programs were conducted at ICDS premises and for those programs, the women leaders use to participate in good numbers.
• Several awareness rallies and meetings were organized with the sponsorship of Field Publicity Department of Central Government, wherein, all these women members participated and supported all the ICDS programs.
• The village action committee consisting of women groups like SHGs & women associations and youth members observed the following days by conducting meetings rallies and processions International Women Day, Anti Leprosy Day, Cancer Awareness Day, Human Rights Day. World AIDS Day, World Population Day, Mother’s Day , World Environmental Day, Anti terrorism Day, Anti Toboco Day, Literecy Awareness Day, etc.
• Free legal aid camps conducted offen.
• Family Counseling Centre was established at Kovalam. At the end of this two years’ program, more than 240 members were counseled.

Staff Training
• The village federations jointly undertook agitations against arrack selling.
• Importance of Panchayat Raj setup was imparted through several types of campaigns. One of these campaigns was through the publication of 50 paged book with full of diagrams and cartoons. This was prepared by M.Xavier chandrakumar of ICDS. This work won the appreciation of the people from all walks of life . More than 4000 copies, supplied to NGOs, village elders and panchayat leaders and to all the key members of SHG s in the villages.
• Diaster Preparedness Campaign was undertaken in the villages in the seashore area.
• The mass agitation program was organized by the Vllage Joint Committees to arrest the industrial pollution in few villages (ie) Kelambakkam & Alathur.
• ICDS joined hands with the Govt., to celebrate literacy Campaign Rally at Chengalpet and Kancheepuram by sending around 500 women members from ICDS.
• About 500 women members from ICDS participated in the Government sponsored mass rally organized at Sathyabama University grounds, wherein Mr. Jeppiar the Dt. collector and Union ministers participated. Our ICDS director was given with a memento in token of his mobilization of women participants in good numbers.

An Awareness game
• District Federation of Voluntary Organization was a district level unit formed with the membership of about 45 NGO members from all over Kancheepuram District. M.Xavier Chandra kumar was the secretary of this organization. During his tenure, a mass rally participated by about 2000 women was conducted at Chengalpet in connection with the International women’s Day on March 8 th .
• A five days SHG training programme was organized thereafter, at ICDS premises, for the benefit of the NGO members in the district. This program, sponsored by Caritas India, New Delhi won the appreciation of the participants’ organization. The valedictory was attended by the Kancheepuram constituency MP Mr.A.K.Moorthy.
• At Tambaram, another awareness rally was conducted, which was addressed by the then Minority Commission chairman, Rev. Esra Sargunam, Bishop of ECI Church of India.