The Slum Development Society is a grassroots organization formed to address the human rights and mental health problems of the Dalit, or undercaste, in India. In past years the Martín-Baró Fund has supported SDS programs designed to provide civil rights education and emotional and community support to the Dalit of rural Tamilnadu.

This year’s grant will enable the SDS to focus on fifteen villages in its target area and offer a range of activities – literacy education, sports and games, play therapy, meditation, charades, street theater, music, and human rights seminars – aimed at fostering mental health and self-esteem, while providing information on civil and human rights.