Brief History and introduction about CDR

* CDRs story began in 1983 in the Marlawai village of Jainoor mandal in Adilabad district in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. It started assisting the tribes in 41 villages in Jainoor and Sirpur (U) mandals. CDR's first initiative was to mobilise the tribal community to raise their voice against insecure ownership of the land and the corrupt practises in land administration. Building up on its collective strength and instilling the spirit of community action have been the cornerstones of CDR's activities since inception.

* CDR was instrumental in preparation of people centred village development plans which later paved way for creation of Village Tribal Development Agencies (VTDA). Perhaps for the first time, the government had the opportunity to participate in a programme designed and implemented by the people. Village development plans were prepared by the tribal community in 41 villages of Jainoor and Sirpur (u) mandals in Adilabad District which were submitted to the government seeking partnership in implementing these plans. These People's Plans encouraged and guided by CDR, redefined decentralised planning and implementation of tribal development programs. CDR always worked with the community to create institutional framework to access and mobilise public resources.

* Sampoorna Grama Arogyam:
The aim of this intervention is to ensure save to save delivery and that every member of the Centre delivers a baby weighing not less than two and a half kilograms. Another objective is to totally prevent infant child mortality (IMR) among the children of the members. Good health of every member is the primary concern of this programme. Members are enrolled with the nearest Primary Health Centre. Every member’s health is checked monthly as per the prescribed protocols. Necessary prophylactic medication including the mandatory iron folic tablets is provided at the appropriate stage of pregnancy. Members are trained in fourteen different aspects of individual health and hygiene. Lactating mothers who also have the same nutritious diet at the Centre are trained in childcare. 100 % immunization is non negotiable. CDR is assisting the community to implement this health programme through a team of qualified auxiliary nursing maids (ANMs). All the ANMs were sent to Jamkhed, Maharastra, where Dr. Arole and his team trained them for three weeks in community management of health services.

Our Initial Interventions include:

• Encouraging Community Participation - Sowing the seeds of collective action has been central to the work of CDR.
• Womens Self Help Group Movement - CDR assisted the tribal women in organizing the first ever Self Help Groups (SHGs) in Sirpur(U) and Jainoor.
• Village Health Plans - Integrated village health plans were prepared and executed by the community with assistance of CDR.
• Introduction of Soya Bean Crop- CDR introduced soya bean crop to tribal farmers in Adilabad District in 1992. It procured seed from Chindwara, M.P. for sowing in 5 acres each in 20 villages. Today soya bean crop is spread over more than 40,000 acres in the district.