RTU is based in the village of G.Kallupatti in Theni District, part of the southern-most Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The economy of the area, nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghat mountain range, is primarily based on agriculture. The most common crops are rice, coconuts and sugarcane.

Most of those from the lowest or scheduled castes do not own agricultural land and live a precarious existence as daily wage labourers dependent on poorly paid seasonal work. Levels of education are low and families are highly vulnerable to accidents and disease. There is little respite for many of the families we encounter as they struggle to support themselves. Life is especially difficult for the many children who are tragically orphaned or live in poverty with parents who are unable to work or suffer chronic ill health. The area is often affected by long periods of drought.

Click on the map below to see the locations of some of our sites:

We work mainly with rural communities within a 50km radius of G.Kallupatti.

• The G.Kallupatti campus houses a primary and secondary school, our medical centre, two balwadies (pre-schools), a day care centre, a central kitchen, weaving workshops, a block production unit to provide the bricks, doors and windows for our housing programme and offices for our administrative staff
• Two Children's Villages are a five minute walk away from the central campus, together with six hostels for teenagers
• A further Children's Village is a short drive away with another hostel and another primary school.
• The fourth Children's Village is in the town of Bodi, which also has a middle school and a hostel
• Our reach extends throughout the area, where thousands of families in rural villages benefit from our house-building and well-drilling programmes, self-help groups, evening study centres, mobile tailoring training, health clinics and mobile science laboratories.

Our range of programmes helps us meet the basic needs of the poorest communities in our area and provide a safety net for the most vulnerable children and families.

Help us reach more families and communities