1. Genesis
Community Organisation for Oppressed and Depressed Upliftment (COODU) which in Tamil denotes ‘Nest’ was initiated in 1995 by a group of research scholars in their early years of social work. The organisation actually began as an answer to the thousands of street children and juvenile delinquents in the state’s rapidly growing cities. Studying their poor socio-economic conditions and providing insights to planners and policy makers through various forums, workshops and seminars paved the way for establishment of COODU. Gradually, the organisation began to answer the needs of all oppressed sections of society besides children. Women were the focus of several programmes as they were marginalised, victimised and vulnerable to physical and economic exploitation. This ushered in the launch of large scale watershed projects aiming at improving the basic needs of the poor – food, clothing and shelter. Through the fourteen years of its vibrant existence, COODU has done pioneering work in the fields of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federation of women Self Help Groups, Water and Sanitation (through the successful Clean Village Campaign), Environment Development (Jatropha plantations for converting to bio-diesel), Solid Waste Management (conversion of solid wastes into Organic Manure and Power Generation from solid waste) and public health and HIV/ AIDS Care and Support Services.
Vision
To empower the oppressed and marginalised sections of the society thereby providing them with long-term avenues for growth and socio-economic development
Mission
Fight relentlessly for the cause of the oppressed and the poorest of the poor in society ensuring that they get their due share and enhance their quality of life.
Adopt participatory, gender-based and rights-based approaches in seeking to identify and solving the problems of the marginalised and weakest sections, especially women.
Apply the ‘Convergence Model’ of growth and development to provide integrated services to the people at the grassroots level by dovetailing the benefits of several programmes aimed at them.
Use state-of-the-art technology and transfer such technology to the urban and rural masses so they may benefit from such technological innovations removing people from the crutches of poverty and indebtedness.
2. Approaches to Social Development
2.1 Community Organisation
Community organisation is at the root of all activities undertaken by COODU. To begin with, sensitisation and awareness generation on specific need-based themes is done on a massive scale using various mass media. This is followed up by mobilising communities into well-knit entities – be it in watershed development, health, social welfare, environment or integrated rural development.
2.2 Mobilisation and Advocacy
COODU has been constructive in not only mobilisation of people at the grassroots level with a focus on the poorest of the poor but also enabled in voicing its views at appropriate forums thereby influencing policy and engaging in necessary advocacy-related activities. In all districts where COODU implements programmes, it has maintained good rapport with the district administration through the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA).
2.3 Applied Research
Community Needs Assessment
In all sectors of development, prior to launch of a programme, COODU conducts a need-based Community Needs Assessment to examine the current priorities of the community that is to be followed up by an action plan for implementation. Thus, COODU’s Community Needs Assessment extends to planning for Watershed development, income generating programmes for women, identification of needs of People Living with HIV/ AIDS, environmental development and so on. Such assessments are done through participatory approach involving all affected people in the village/ group.
Training Assessment
COODU has conducted Training Needs Assessment of its project personnel thereby identifying their needs and providing with appropriate training in skill building and enhancement of capabilities. Thus, COODU has provided Leadership Training, Training on Use and Access of Information and Vocational Training especially to marginalised groups.
Participatory Methodology (PRA)
The participatory approach entails use of participatory methodology in assessing and monitoring socio-economic development activities at the grassroots level. COODU has earned the expertise in not only conducting Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA) in its project areas but has also extended training other NGOs and CBOs as well as officials of various departments in PRA techniques.
The various tools used under the PRA method include:
a. Transect Walk
b. Participatory Resource Mapping
c. Social Mapping
d. Seasonal Calendar
e. Wealth Ranking
f. Participatory Venn Diagram
g. Time Line and Trends
h. Flow Diagram (Cause and Effect Relationship)
i. Tree-preference Matrix Ranking
j. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats)
GIS in Micro-watershed Planning
COODU uses the latest technology along with local knowledge obtained by the people to fine tune its project activities. In this context, COODU has used Geographical Information System (GIS) in preparation of Watershed Atlas in planning for Micro-watersheds. The maps are digitised and final reports are prepared crosschecking data through satellite-generated aerial maps.
2.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
Concurrent monitoring and evaluation is critical for all projects. COODU pursues stringent monitoring and evaluation of individual projects through periodic monitoring. Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly Monitoring and Terminal Evaluation at the end of the project phase are important means of assessing project performance. Key performance Indicators are developed on the basis of which projects are monitored. More importantly, feedback obtained at the end of each cycle is fed into redesigning projects for maximum output.
3. Organisation Details
3.1 Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of COODU comprises leading social workers, lawyers, academicians and researchers with several years of experience in social development.
