Sarah Tucker was an missionary educator and informer who was primarily known for furthering education and crucial health understanding in India for women and girls through advocacy and fundraising.
She is the namesake of Sarah Tucker College in Palayamkottai village (today a town) in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Her advocay and impact led to the founding of four present day institutions in Tamil Nadu.
Sarah Tucker was born on 24 July 1827 in Wales, England to a wealthy Christian family. Tucker's family had a devotion to boys' and girls' education which set her on the path to developing interest in academic and health education for girls. Tucker was described as "physically lame". With her brother as a missionary in India, Tucker was motivated to inspire others to helpy women and girls in underserved communities in India thrive. [1]
Tucker was motivated to support girls education when she first became aware of the "ill-fortune" that affected many women and girls abroad from her brother a missionary, John Tucker. He wrote a letter to her mentioning how the women in Tamil Nadu (India) were being treated poorly. He described their treatment as that of cattle and evil creatures. [1] John Tucker also expressed that the condition of those women could not be described to expound their "pathetic situation." Sarah Tucker, physically disabled, still felt that she could do something to help as she read the letter with "tears in her eyes". [1]
Tucker was prompted to pray for these women with the help of her friends. Then she came to the conclusion that the women's suffering came from their lack of education and motivation. Tucker and her friends set forth some of their earnings to pledge to the betterment of the Tamil Women. [1] She also collected money with the hope of helping the women start an educational institution and become an advocate for their health education. [2] These funds led to the first normal school started through her brother.
Since it was the 1800s, girls from rural areas such as Tamil Nadu were rarely allowed to attend basic school or college. [2] Though Tucker was not physically capable, she understood the states which surrounded physical ability and dreamt of establishing a women's college in Palayamkottai village to help girls and women become educated. [2]
In 1843, Tucker's influence and fundraising (of 20 sovereign) led to her brother, the missionary John Tucker, opening a Normal School in Kadachapuram. After 13 years, this school closed. On the death of Tucker, her friends raised 811 sovereign to reopen the school named in her honor, opening it in Palayamkottai. [3] It was opened as a Normal school for girls and rapidly expanded. [4] [5]
The Normal school purchased its own land in 1861 and developed the Sarah Tucker Compound, also known as the Sarah Tucker Institution, with missionaries advancing the secondary school and developing new training and health care programs: [4]
The College bought separate land and moved from the high school compound in 1947. [4]
Sarah's goal was not realized by her before she died in December 1857. [1] Her friends, in response to her death, carried on her legacy came together and raised funds to open a training school for women in Palayamkottai village as a memorial to Tucker. The goal was to fulfill Tucker's motto, "Service to people is service to Lord Jesus Christ." [1]
The friends collected 268 pounds and 17 shillings and sent the funds to John Tucker as a memorial fund. With these funds, the teacher training college was reopened now in Palayamkottai. The high school and college as well as other industrial programs for vocational training were established. A hospital was also started. Both the high school and college were named after Sarah Tucker as tribute to her inspiring life and goals to bring forth academic esteem for women in South India despite her disability and continue to exist today. [1]
Sarah Tucker College lives on and is now a constituent college of Manonmaniam Sundaranar Univeristy. [8] [9] The college's motto is "So Run that ye may obtain the Incorruptible Crown"
The college is affiliated with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and is one of the oldest colleges, and is the oldest womens college, in the university and state of Tamil Nadu.
Source: https://www.icbse.com
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