The population of Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, is 450,000 and growing, due to an increase in industrial and commercial activity. An ever-increasing number of landless peasants migrate into Dindigul from rural poverty. Few families succeed: most become destitute, surviving only on casual, menial work, living without adequate shelter and services on pavements and on waste grounds. Sole children, sent to towns and cities by desperate parents, search for food or income. With no family support, these children work in teashops, restaurants or small industries; clean shoes; and resort to rag picking to earn a few rupees. Some children turn to begging and/or petty theft.

Before the commencement of SPEDY, services to assist homeless families and street working children were negligible in Dindigul and, despite the efforts of the families, their long-term chances of reintegration were poor. ICT was able to obtain a 3-year EC grant to support Shelter, Protection, Education and Development for Youth (SPEDY): a project set up to take direct action in assisting destitute families in Dindigul. SPEDY is an integrated community development programme, which provides shelter, education and training, and initiates small income generation projects. In keeping with ICT policies, the programme is managed and staffed by local people, targets the most marginalised and involves them in determining their own needs of the facilities and services provided.

Using the experience it has obtained from running a child sponsorship programme in VVP, ICT-SEEDS has set up a child sponsorship programme at SPEDY, which is a way of making the project more sustainable, by making it less grant dependent.

In this past financial year, SPEDY has been preparing itself for expansion into the hills community of Palani, where another centre will be set of for displaced children