Would you like to make a real difference to the lives of poor rural families in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu? We would like to start working with five new villages in Tamil Nadu. At SCAD in partnership with our UK charity Salt of the Earth we run a sponsor a village scheme. This is a pioneering opportunity for communities in the UK and Europe to support community development in villages in Southern India. With your help we can change people's lives. This core funding pays for a village volunteer and part of the salary of a professional field worker. Between them they provide...

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Join Trisha Roberts for a fascinating insight into India - there is no better way to get to know a new place than to share food with local people.  During this colourful two week tour you will visit markets, shop for ingredients, learn to cook southern India food, visit villages, schools and temples and much, much more! During this tour you will gain firsthand insight into how our projects make a real difference to women like Karuppi.  Along with shopping for ingredients and learning to cook 3 or 4 dishes per day, you will also visit some of SCAD's projects including income-generating...

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Cataract is an age-related condition in which the lens of the eye becomes clouded, blurring vision. Cataracts can lead to blindness, however the process is entirely reversible. If caught early and simply operated on full sight can be recovered. Cataracts are a massive problem for people in India. It is estimated that for India alone 3.8 million people become blind from cataract each year. The sight loss of an adult can damage the household economy, whether a breadwinner becomes another mouth to feed or a grandmother is no longer able to provide primary care for the children. SCAD can perform...

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Last week was the best week of the year for many children in Tamil Nadu, including myself (a big kid!). Summer camp was held by SCAD for differently abled children from surrounding villages. 60 children with varying physical and mental disabilities came to Anbu Illam for five days, all with one objective – to have fun. ‘Fun’ is not usually a word associated with children with disabilities from rural underprivileged villages in Tamil Nadu. A combination of cultural attitudes, ignorance and lack of resources condemns these children to a life of exclusion and great hardship.  Parents are often...

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The SCAD interventions in health related activities is a direct response to the growing concern over the emerging health challenges in the villages. Camps and trainings are extremely beneficial in providing immediate and localised care to village members who otherwise might not be able to access a doctor, hospital or knowledge on how to ensure the best health for themselves and their families. It is vital that these trainings are provided in an environment and language that the local people understand and SCAD has a real advantage here being a local NGO. The SCAD staff work tirelessly to provide...

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" Orphan elders" are older people who have outlived all their family and are neglected by their kith and kin, therefore they don't have any caregivers. They are a largely ignored population whose numbers are expected to burgeon with the medical explosion that has paved way for a longer life and smaller families. Neglect is the most common form of abuse towards orphan elders at 48.7 % followed by emotional, financial and physical abuse. SCAD helps give the orphan elders a life of dignity through programmes including a monthly old age pension, medical assistance, elders’ self help groups and annual...

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SCAD World School is opening in June 2012 for students in Classes KG to 9. We are offering the Cambridge Primary Curriculum and Secondary Curriculum supported by the International Early Years and Primary Curricula in the Primary School the International Middle Years Curriculum in Class 6-8. Students will be assessed through Cambridge Checkpoints and IGCSE. We intend to offer the IB Diploma programme from 2014. Our Statement of Learning Philosophy reflects our commitment to a holistic programme of learning centred around the individual needs of students: SCAD World School: Learning through...

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Mrs Nagalakshmi set aside one acre of her five acre plot in 2007 to grow fruit trees and, with the help of SCAD's tree planting staff, she planted trees for the next three years. Initially she planted 50 Sapota trees and has subsequently added a further 55 trees comprising of Jamun, Tamarind and Guava. The Sapota trees have just started to fruit and she has sold the crop for £200 (RS 15,000). To supplement her income before the fruit trees started to bear fruit, SCAD staff convinced her to plant Sorghum as an inter crop and provided her with some subsidised seed. Sorghum is easy to grow and can survive...

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The Indian charity 'The Association of People with Disabilities' claims 17 million people with disabilities in India do not receive support such as mobility aids. SCAD is working with VOTOL to help support young people with physical and mental disabilities. So far in the last six months we have been very busy with this mission and managed to organise  5 Orthopaedic and assessment camps attended by a total of 310children with physical and/or learning difficulties.  a total of 490 children with physical and/or learning difficulties received treatment. 56 parents received training and support...

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Every child has the right to participate, grow, live and be protected from others. Being given a chance is essential for these rights to be fulfilled in a child. In India there are very few opportunities and prospects for differently abled children. SCAD gives hope, dignity and self respect to differently abled children in Tamil Nadu. A golden opportunity was given by SCAD to 5 physically challenged students to take part in the State Level Sports Meet for the physically challenged. The sports meet was held at Chennai. SCAD staff and Sports Coordinator took 5 children to Chennai by train to compete...

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