Perumalmalai and surrounding villages History:
In Perumalmalai and the surrounding villages there are around 2800 families. Most of the families are working as day labourers in farms, mainly vegetables farms, coffee and banana plantations and as coolie workers at building sites. The average daily income of these workers is Rs. 150-250, which is not enough to meet the basic family needs.
In the interior villages the people living economically in a most backward condition, without any proper housing facilities, without windows, doors, toilet facilities, proper roads, hospitals etc. During the rainy season it is very difficult for these people to go to work. The parents of these children have to walk a long way to reach the public road, and from there they have to arrange private transport to bring the children to our school. Around 60 children come from these villages and remaining 94 children come from Perumalmalai village.
Moreover, owing to the cold climate in the hills area and the rainy season it is difficult to even maintain a regular work for a long time. Health problems are also of major importance, since besides the suffering they cause, they also make the parents unable to work, sometimes indefinitely. Due to their financially deprived situation these families are incessantly stressed to satisfy their daily essential requirements. A certain percentage of the men in these families are alcoholic and as a consequence the women and children sometimes fall victims of domestic violence. In other cases only the women are working to provide for their families.