{{Use Indian English, date=August 2020 The Rural Institute for Development Education''

RIDE) is a secular,

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

dedicated to empower poor and disadvantaged residents in rural

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

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 or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

Groups and a micro loan program. RIDE provides training to instill

self-confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

, 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 is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

and sanitation systems in rural villages. RIDE conducts awareness programs on health care, sanitation, hygiene, HIV/AIDS,

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...

and voters rights. As the need arises RIDE participates in other community campaigns, such as disaster relief after the tsunami. Early 2004 RIDE sourced and distributed over 7 million

Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use w ...

s worth of medicine and supplies to the affected areas in its region. Organisations based in Tamil Nadu Rural development organisations in India Organizations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Tamil Nadu