New Delhi, India

The purpose is to unite on an international level, reduce India’s carbon footprint, and green the planet overall. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham joined European Union (EU) missions in India alongside more than 15 other organizations and signed the “Green Pledge”.

The agreement extends the commitment to adopt a number of sustainable measures nationwide, including reducing plastic use, managing waste responsibly, and reducing water and electricity consumption.

Washington, DC

Dorothy Bush Koch is the daughter of the 41st President of the United States, George H Bush, and the sister of the 43rd President, George W Bush. She officially welcomed Amma to Washington, DC at Amma's program on July 1st. “Doro” and her sister-in-law, Patricia Reilly Koch, garlanded Amma, received her blessings and offered a few words.

“We are living right now through a time of deep division and discord—not only in our country but across the world. Amma is here to show us that another path is possible—the path of love and compassion," said Doro.

Rural India

The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 not only destroyed thousands of lives and homes, it also had a serious effect upon the fishing industry in India's coastal communities. When the fishermen and their families explained the crisis to Amma, she immediately understood that alternate forms of livelihood were necessary. She felt that at least one member of each family from the fishing community should become proficient in a trade not dependent on the sea.

In order to facilitate this, Amma launched the first community-based self-help group (SHG) program. It was named Amrita Self-Reliance, Education & Employment (AmritaSREE). What began as a response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami soon spread throughout Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Today, there are more than 11,000 AmritaSREE SHGs with 200,000 plus people participating. In the Andaman Islands, an additional 1,000 self-help groups have been established.

Sarita was nine months pregnant when she suddenly began to discharge an abnormally large amount of water. She was expecting to give birth at home like most of the women in her small village of Ratanpur, Bihar. Although government hospitals are available, the villagers prefer to give birth at home according to their own traditions.

Renuka and her family live in Washim, Maharashtra. As a teenager in 12th standard, she has to work to support her family's needs as well as her own education. Her family was already from a poor background, but her responsibilities increased when her father became a cancer patient. She received an education scholarship from Embracing the World so she could make ends meet and pursue her goal to become a music teacher.

When Amma began the production of reusable cloth menstrual pads, it was with a holistic vision for both Mother Earth and its girls and women. Saukhyam is a reusable pad made from natural materials that are practical, cost-effective and minimize pollution.

In addition, Saukhyam is manufactured by women’s self-help groups who are part of the Amrita SeRVeself-reliant village project in India. With the global gain in popularity for reusable pads, this brings an effective way for the women to earn additional income for their families.

A home construction project has meant a new lease on life for former slum dwellers in the city of Pune, Maharashtra. The neighborhood of Ajanta Nagar was a sprawling mass of brick walls and tin roofs that crossed over eight acres.

Amrita Kuteeram, our housing project, partnered with the Maharashtra state government and built 11 new blocks of five-floor apartment buildings there. Seven hundred families moved into homes with solid infrastructure and community support.

Shreya Siddanagowder is established in a new life after she underwent Asia’s first upper arm double hand transplant at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Kerala. The difficult surgery took place in 2017 after Shreya lost both her hands in a tragic road accident. In this video, Shreya and her parents share how the process has not only healed her body, but also given a deeper perspective on what it means to be alive.

Immediately after its creation in 2007, Amma Québecin Canada sought to find a way to feed the homeless in the streets of Montreal. It was clear to the organizers that the issue was urgent, with the city having more than 3,000 people in need. Montreal is Canada's second largest city with a population of 3.5 million people and also has a long, cold winter of snow and ice.

“We asked Amma whether we could proceed and she said definitely,” remembers Hitesh, one of Amma Québec’s coordinators. “We contacted Welcome Hall Mission and they responded with great enthusiasm for us to join their project. They have been at work in Montreal since 1892.”

During the past month, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) has been at the center of a tense drama that has ultimately saved an infant’s life. Mistah and Shaniya are from Kasaragod, a district in the northernmost tip of Kerala. On April 1st, their baby boy was born, but within a couple of days showed breathing trouble due to a congenital heart disease.