Reaching out to villagers

Home Science students of Agriculture College and Research Institute organising a medical camp at Pudhupatti village near Othakadai on Monday. Photo: G. Moorthy

The otherwise serene Pudhupatti village near Othakadai is abuzz with activity for the past two weeks. Eleven students from the Home Science Department of Agricultural College and Research Institute have been organising a series of events in the village as a part of their outreach programme.

“During our first visit here, we noted that the villagers lacked proper sanitation and cleanliness. They also wasted a lot of water,” says S. Sujitha, a student.

Most of the houses did not have toilets and bathrooms. The villagers defecated in the open space surrounding a water tank and took bath in a common water tank installed there, the students say.

This prompted the students to stage a play on cleanliness and water conservation. They then organised interactive sessions with women and children to emphasise the importance of sanitation and childcare.

M. Pandi Meena (32), a resident of the village, says the students told her how to take care of her four-year-old daughter in a hygienic manner.

“They told me what kind of food to give her, how to dress her and keep her clean,” she adds. They also organised self-employment training programmes, in which women were trained in hand embroidery.

“The only source of income for many women here is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. We thought teaching them some work will help them augment their income,” says K. Narmatha, another student.

M. Tamil Selvi (23), a resident of the village, says the programmes organised by the students would help the villagers in keeping Pudhupatti clean.

“We normally grow vegetables at our gardens, but fetch water from outside for them. The girls taught us to have effective kitchen gardens without wasting water. This spares us the work of fetching water from outside,” says another villager K. Pottaiamma (50). “We are trying to create awareness of the importance of having a primary health centre (PHC) and police station at the village. Earlier, the villagers were reluctant to give land for establishment of a PHC. Now they are willing to listen to us,” concludes R. Surya, a student.

A few other students from the college are also staying at Tirumogur, where similar events are being organised.