ActionAid India works to assert women and girls' rights through over 500 projects across India. They support women's collectives that analyze challenges and work to claim their rightful position in society. The organization focuses on reaching the most excluded groups, including Dalit, tribal, and differently abled women and girls. One such group is the Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Federation Charitable Trust, which conducts programs to ensure access to education, healthcare, livelihood, and public spaces for differently abled women in three districts of Tamil Nadu. The document provides an example of a success story of a deaf and mute woman who gained skills and confidence through the group and was able to start her own business.

1. Need to work on the
rights of women and
girls?
• ActionAid is global movement of people whose vision
is to defeat poverty and attain human rights for all
• At ActionAid India asserting the rights of women and
girls‟ rights as human right is one of our core values
and priorities.
• Through the 500 odd projects that we support in
almost every state in this country, we facilitate
processes that enable women to come together and
collectively claim their rightful position in the society.

3. • The various women‟s collectives that we support
critically analyse the challenges and confront it
through their sustained efforts. Our focus has
always been to support the poorest and most
excluded groups, who are often denied all means
of self-expression.
• We reach out to Dalit, Tribal and differently abled
women and girls who have to face more than
double deprivation - social exclusion in the name
of caste and economic exclusion aggravated by
poverty.
Need….

4. What is W4W?
• An initiative where the socially aware women
from economically advantageous positions
support various Women Collectives that AA
works with

5. Tamil Nadu Differentlyabled
Federation Charitable Trust
• This collective of differently-abled women
conducts programmes that would ensure proper
access to education, health care, livelihood and
4 „A‟s in public spaces in 3 districts of Tamil
Nadu.

6. A success
story
Ms.Joythi, a deserted women having speech and hearing
impaired disability was working as a domestic worker and
earning INR 2000 per month. She has two children in an
age of 15 years (M) and 11 years (F). Her elder son worked
in the morning as part time worker and also gets income
through door to door distribution of news papers. With this
income it was very difficult for her to run the family of three
members. Due to such financial constraints, Joythi was not
able to purchase hearing aid and also was not able to meet
the children‟s education.
With the TNHFCT intervention she joined in the Women
with disability Forum to strengthen her skills and gain
confidence to move ahead in life. She was undergone the
vocational skill development on cleaning solution, soap
making and wire bags making and entrepreneurship skill
training. With the support of TNHFCT, she received a bank
loan of Rs. 20,000/- and started her own entrepreneurship.
Now she is able to earn Rs. 4,000/- per month. She
received a hearing aid (Rs. 13,000/- and also educating her
children.
Ms.Joythi stated that “after being associated with Forum
for Rights of Women with Disability, I feel proud and
confident to run the new business for my livelihood”.

7. Who is a potential donor?

8. Your support to us
• Awareness on rights and entitlements
• Livelihood support to women
• Jobs, trainings-computer, tailoring, mat-making etc
• Aids & Appliances – Wheel chairs, Tri
cycles, Calipers, artificial Limbs, Hearing aids etc.
• Social security schemes – Disability certificates, widow
and old age pensions, marriage
assistance, maintenance allowance for intellectual
impaired etc
• Advocacy activities: Protest, Hunger strikes, Human
chain, Press releases for denial of PwDs rights, to
implement subsidised travel scheme, add railway coach
for PwDs, against attitude of authorities etc.

9. We intend to reach out to them
through the following ways
• Through Public Kiosks - Malls, Community
Centers, Housing Societies, Public Spaces like
Airport etc. This will be a one-on-one, face-to-
face approach.
• Through Corporate Spaces – At offices – This
will be a one-to-many approach where we reach
out to a group of women at one go
• Through the web – reaching out to women and
girls on the web

10. Ask Amount
• Pooling of money received

11. What will the donor get once
he/she donates?
• Welcome Letter (online/offline) from ED
• Bi-monthly newsletter
• 6 monthly updates with milestones and stories of
change.