Centre for Rural Empowerment and Education for Development
Kanyakumari District, South India

The Centre for Rural Development and Education for Development, or CREED, is located in the Kanyakumari District in the Tamil Nadu state at the Southern-most tip of the cape of India. Within the many low-income and farm-reliant villages in the district, alcoholism has become a major problem. Recent data suggest that the problem is on the increase and is becoming acute, and the number of young addicts is on the rise. There is evidence proving that alcoholism is contributing to a rising crime rate in India, and also breeds domestic violence, of which the worst sufferers are women and children.

CREED's objective is to combat alcoholism through education and preventive measures, and by the organized prevention of the establishment of shops selling alcohol in area villages.  CREED already has created several programs to combat alcoholism in the area. In the village centers, CREED publicity meetings have been organized giving wide publicity to the ill effects of alcoholism. Rallies have been organized in specific areas involving the students and youth drawn from CREED Centres. These rallies are very helpful in creating awareness among villagers about the dangers of alcohol consumption, and also go a long way in preventing youth from beginning to drink in the first place. The rallies are held in central places where the population is concentrated.

Seminars and workshops already have been organized in a number of regions. There are four seminars planned to be held, one in each of the sectors of the Kanyakumari District in 2007. There will be a panel of resource persons at each seminar available to deal with various aspects of alcoholism. The participants of the seminars will be mostly women drawn from the villages. Elocution and Essay competitions also are organized for the student community, and a one-day Conference to deal with the problem of alcoholism has been proposed. The Conference will deal with various measures to combat alcoholism, and the District administration of the government will be fully involved in its execution. This Conference will be the culmination of the various activities envisaged under the Anti-Alcoholism Project. Over the next two to three years, it is projected that at least fifteen centers for seminars and rallies will be organized in the district and will thus allow the crusade against alcoholism to become an ongoing activity.

Alcoholism is a major problem hindering the development of villages and the village communities in the Kanyakumari and other districts throughout India. CREED plans to extend its activities to other villages and establish other village Centres.  Funding is needed, however, to help bring these goals to fruition and to help CREED continue its crusade against alcohol abuse.