DMI Global Mission

DMI (Daughters of Mary Immaculate and Collaborators) has worked in India since 1984, as the Indian arm of DMI Global Mission, run by the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic society of Women Religious. It works with Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other marginalised rural communities, focusing on women, children and youth through grassroots development. It takes a rights based, participatory approach, and also advocates for policy change and social justice in SC/ST dominated regions. It currently operates across 4 states, 15 districts and more than 1,500 villages in India, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.

Major Areas of Work

• Women’s Empowerment: forms and supports Self Help Groups (SHGs) for savings, internal loans and income generation, with federations at panchayat, block, district and state level.
• Child Protection and Development: runs children’s groups that build leadership and advocacy skills, and provides school supplies to children in need. Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment: life skills training, peer support and mental health education for adolescent girls.
• Disability Inclusion: community based rehabilitation and support for persons with disabilities, including access to government schemes.
• Humanitarian Assistance: emergency relief, health camps and COVID-19 response support. Advocacy and Networking: policy advocacy on PWD rights and women’s land rights, internships for social work students, and the monthly e-magazine Light to Life.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Women Empowerment (WE) Programme: 3,733 Self Help Groups with 48,074 women members across 26 blocks, 256 panchayats and 1,500 villages, with training in 18 business trades and support for microcredit and mobile vending carts.
• Child Development (CD) Programme: children’s groups for leadership and advocacy, with school supplies distributed through the Women’s Federation.
• Adolescent Girls Empowerment (AGE) Programme: 123 adolescent girls’ groups set up since 2024 across 11 districts, reaching over 1,800 girls, with life skills training, peer support and mental health education.
• Humanitarian Assistance and Community Based Rehabilitation (HACBR): COVID-19 relief distributing 500 food packets a day in Chennai and other districts, health camps, and support for over 1,000 PWD families in Tiruvallur district, with 705 individuals helped to access government benefits or employment.
• Network, Visibility and Collaboration (NVC): advocacy on PWD rights and women’s land rights, internships for social work students, and the monthly e-magazine Light to Life, which has published over 500 editions.

Impact

DMI’s India programme runs 3,733 Self Help Groups covering 48,074 women across 26 blocks, 256 panchayats and 1,500 villages in 4 states. Since 2024, it has set up 123 adolescent girls’ groups reaching over 1,800 girls. Its disability inclusion work has supported over 1,000 PWD families in Tiruvallur district, helped 705 individuals access government benefits or employment, and facilitated access to 27 government schemes for persons with disabilities. It received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Greater Chennai Corporation for its COVID-19 relief work in 2020, and some of its Self Help Groups have won recognition including the Manimegalai Award and Best Women Awards.

Leadership

Rev. Fr. J. E. Arul Raj, Founder, DMI Global Mission

DMI suits people who want hands on, grassroots development work with marginalised rural communities in India, rather than policy work alone. Staff work directly with Self Help Group federations, adolescent girls’ groups, and persons with disabilities, across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, within a mission running for over 40 years, backed by an international faith based organisation.