Elsey Jacob from the Nava Joyothi Association, a member of the Fedina network, is still smiling as she gives a narration of the event that occurred in the summer of 2009. She recounts the story of a Dalit family that lived for many years in a small house on a piece of land in the village of Kulaseharam in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As their land was appropriated by high-caste villagers, legal proceedings had to be initiated. Ever since then, the high caste families “systematically (...) Next ...

Fedina is a network of Indian local organizations established in five states of Southern India. Member organisations of the network work with marginalized communities, enabling them to defend their rights and find a way out of poverty. Local coordinators visit the inhabitants, help them organise groups and assist them in their struggle. Meetings, guidance, training and legal support: together, they organise the mobilisation for rights, until these rights are achieved. Fedina offers (...) Next ...

Anjali poses with her three sons in front of her house, between open air sewers and a swampy private property. We are in the Rajendanagar District, in the heart of the huge Koramangala slum, in Bangalore. Anjali’s parents fled the poverty of Tamil Nadu rural areas over 40 years ago. Anjali is now 37 and has never known any other life than the one in the slum of this South Indian megalopolis. Anjali is a daily worker in the construction industry. Every day, she struggles to help her family (...) Next ...

Who would dare go and see the local authorities to ask for water taps in the village, for a title deed for land cultivated for generations, or for access to the temples like everyone else in the population? Not one of the 1,400 inhabitants of the Dalit quarter of the village of Thettu would have dared do that a few years ago. And yet the 1950 Constitution bans any discrimination against caste members. So, theoretically, the Dalits have the same rights as the rest of the population. Today, (...) Next ...

The place is southern Andhra Pradesh. In the village of Company, a name given by British settlers when they used to trade here, some twenty Yanadi tribal families live in huts, at the edge of the forest. C. Bullama, an inhabitant of the village, explains: « Our ancestors already lived on this land. We are dependent on the forest to live and we want to stay here. » In the forest, the inhabitants pick palm nuts, roots and medicinal plants which they sell in neighboring villages. They also grow (...) Next ...

3000 calories per day and per person, a roof, clothes, access to health services, schools : this is the minimum needed to keep a family alive. It is very far from what the textile workers of Asia have. Last October 7, on the World Day for Decent Work, workers throughout Asia announced the official launch of Asia Floor Wage (minimum wage in Asia), a campaign to demand a decent minimum wage for textile workers. In this mobilisation, there was an aspect which has become indispensable: (...) Next ...

Rights are built one step at a time with poor populations. This process, lead by Fedina with the support of Frères des Hommes, is what concretely changes the living conditions of these groups. Theresia V.C. talks about it. She is 38 years old and has been working with Fedina since 1999 in villages around Nanjungod, in the state of Karnataka. She helps developing self help groups that enable marginalized populations to inquire about their rights and receive solidarity micro-credits. I work (...) Next ...

Meet those Indians who chose non-violence to improve their rights! To lend your support to the project, click here. Helping those who cannot defend themselves! For the last 15 years, Frères des Hommes and Fedina have been committed to the cause of India’s poorest populations. We are starting a new 3-year program with the following aims: give rights to exploited workers, by enabling the setting up of 8 new trade unions to defend workers with precarious living conditions (textile, (...) Next ...