Background

During 1980s Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) as international development organisation started welfare activities in backward villages of  Adoni area in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh of India through Christian Reformed Church with basic interventions such as food distribution, providing nutritious food to children and conducting literacy centers for adults.   

A paradigm shift in development perspective took place during 1990s across the world from welfare to development approach.    This shift had prompted rethinking in CRWRC to start development projects in India with the support of Church of South India Council for Technical and Vocational Training (CSICTVT) (now Board of Diaconal Ministries) Madras. 

Emergence of AARDIP

AARDIP was started in the year 1988 and started working with a new direction in development approach.  Even though AARDIP was started as a programme with the church support but it evolved as full-pledged development organisation with all statutory compliances by the year 1992.   Now, AARDIP as an organisation, is working with multi-pronged developmental activities and starting to bring social, economic, cultural justice to the marginalized.

Journey from village to state level networking

AARDIP with the natural involvement  in the life …./issues and problems of people has evolved several strategies such as educating and organising the communities and building peoples institutions in order to establish the voices of poor to question the exploitation.    Accordingly, AARDIP started working on rights based approach and promoted various peoples institutions related to civil, political and cultural rights of Dalits, Dalit women, Dalit children, unorganised laborers.

Further, AARDIP was instrumental in building a NGOs forum with about 120 NGOs and CBOs in the year 1993 with  support and involvement of government. District level administration had financial and logistical support to AARDIP to coordinate the forum and played a major role to involve active NGOs in implementation of poverty alleviation programmes of UNDP in the year 1996.    This involvement in bi-lateral programme led to promotion of Network of Voluntary Organisations in Kurnool (NOVOK) with likeminded and committed NGOs.

NOVOK has been guided by AARDIP to promote development perspective on rights based approach to associate with Action Aid  to initiate Dalit Empowerment programme.   AARDIP is continuing to provide leadership to NGOs in the state to build capacities in community organisation and community development.

Till now, AARDIP promoted three people’s institutions to protect the civil, political and economic rights of people such as Dalit Samakhya which is working in 6 states of Andhra Pradesh; Spandana Women Cooperative in Adoni mandal to economically empower women and SCs/STs Labor Contract Societies to protect the livelihood rights of unorganised laborers.

On the whole, AARDIP today is working with different social groups such as Dalits, women, children, HIV/AIDS infected and affected and peasants. 

The focus of AARDIP is to bring sustainable structural changes in the society  in order to bring peace, justice, fraternity and development into the lives of marginalized communities.   The main focus is  to ensure freedom and dignity to  Dalits,   security to Dalit women woman and future for Dalit children.

Mr. K. Swamidas, The Secretary & Chief Executive of the Organization is an experienced professional Social Worker, started his career in 1979. Prior to AARDIP, he had worked with BACRD Project, run by a missionary from England for 9 years and had enough opportunities to attain required skills and knowledge in Community Development through trainings and exposures in India and abroad. Eventually, in 1988, AARDIP has been founded by him and serving in Kurnool District covering 360 villages and expanded other districts such as Prakasham and Kadapa.

VISION & MISSION STATEMENT AND SET OF SHARED VALUES

a) Vision of Organization

Power to poor through socio-economic and political empowerment of marginalized.

b) Mission

Educate and organize the marginalized into Action Groups, and enable them to take charge of their own development by sharing the resources around them and making a path to have a share in power to influence the polices.

c) Values

The shared values we hold, create a common understanding and inspire us to work together to achieve our goal. The values are -

• Commitment
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Democratic Functioning

d) Goal

Building peoples capacities for assertion of Rights and Entitlements.

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