Antony’s Rural Entrepreneurial Activities
(AREA)

EXTENSION DEPARTMENT

Profile

St. Antony’s College of Arts & Sciences for Women in India took a decision to launch an innovative extension programmein the year 2021 with its vision to uplift and empower rural women through creating awareness and training.It’s a big dream and an ambition to establish an extension center to train and empower the rural women and dropouts through educating, motivating, creating awareness, training and uplifting which came into an implementation in2021 with the commencement of AREA.(Antony’s Rural Entrepreneurial Activities) is a social wing of the college that aims at improving the socio-economic status of the underprivileged rural women and dropouts in and around ThamaraipadiPanchayat through offering different skill based and entrepreneurial training and activities.The various skill development trainings offered under this program are designed to help the unemployed Rural Women, School/college drop outs and the underprivileged of the surrounding villages to become self-employed.

It aims to raise the social awareness of students of this college and motivate them and the staff members to transfer knowledge and skills to the rural communities. The very first aim is the belief that exposing students to rural realities will result in a personal transformation that may help them serve the masses of our Nation. And also the next aim leads to a broader goal of empowering rural communities so that they can take up developmental projects for their own welfare.

Meaning of Extension

Extension Education is “Helping People to Help Themselves” in changing their behavior in a desirable direction for overall development in an individual, in his/her family, in his/her community and thereby his/her nation. Stretching out and reaching out the individual and the institution's potentiality to the marginalized and to the unreached Society.

Objectives

Vision:

• To uplift and empower rural women

Mission:

• To develop the entrepreneurial activities in rural areas

Objectives:

• To develop the socio-economic conditions of the surrounding villages

• To increase the status of women in surrounding villages

• To offer skill development training programs for underprivileged women and school/college drop outs

• To arouse in the students a sense of social justice, responsibility, compassion and concern for and sensitivity to the plight of the underprivileged through exposure to the rural areas nearby.

Activities
Activities carried out in the Last Two Years (2022 -2024)
Extension Department

Milestones

• Created 14 Entrepreneurs at ThamaraipadiPanchayat - 2021

• Restoration and Rejuvenation of Pond –Initiative Program at Salaiyur - 2022

Service Areas

List of Service Villages – ThamaraipadiPanchayat
Dindigul District

• Thamaraipadi

• Vadakku and TherkuKallathupatty

• Kallathupatty

• ThambinayakanParaipatty

• Salaiyur/Ammakulathupatty

The Needs

• The Village Salaiyur lacks even an Anganwadi and a primary school which needs to be constructed as the children below five years are unable to attend their schools or Anganwadi either. Children need to travel a long distance to ThambiNayakanParaipatty for their education.

• No transport facilities from the main road to Thamaraipadi village as the residents pay much for the share auto to reach their residence

• The Village Kallathupatty lacks even a primary school and here also the children need to travel a long distance for their education either to Thambi Nayakan Paraipatty or KovilYagapanapatty.