Cyclone Fani, which had wind speeds between 175-200 km/hr, made landfall in the state of Odisha, India on May 3rd. The storm hit the village of Janla which is home to an Amrita-PMKVY Skills Training Center, and the center was severely damaged. Despite the aftermath, the 47 students who study there are determined to both help their communities recover and complete their studies in June as scheduled.

Amma has received an honorary Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt. Honoris Causa) from the University of Mysore, the sixth oldest university in India. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Mysore, Prof. G. Hemanatha Kumar, officially presented the degree in Amritapuri.

“The University of Mysore is blessed to confer this honorary degree upon Amma, who during the past four decades has contributed so much goodness to the world—everything from spiritual education to massive charitable humanitarian efforts, showing society that these two are like two sides of the same coin,” said Prof. Kumar.

In Kanti, Haryana, village women, AMMACHI Labsand UNESCO are leading a quest to find solutions for sustainable waste management in the context of women’s empowerment.

The first step is to ask members of the community what works best for them to begin new cleanliness practices in both public and private spaces. After that comes the reality check of putting those ideas into practice and maintaining the new systems.

Around the world members of AYUDH, our youth movement, are taking further action to help humanity return to balance with nature. In terms of personal development, it is their wish to connect on a deeper level with the environment. On this year’s Earth Day, the focus was one of the essential elements—to plant trees and gardens.

It started in 2007 when members of the Indian government approached Amma for advice regarding the inner psychological state of its paramilitary forces. As is well known, the stressful experiences in this field can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic strife and high suicide rates.

Amma decided to reach out to the men and women working in the forces by teaching them meditation--a practice that goes beyond the written history of humankind. Through the ages, it has been used to bring calm and stability back to agitated minds.

March 20, 2019 - India

A new system for safe water supply means a better way of life for the women, men and children of Gudipadu Cheruvu, Andhra Pradesh.

In the summer of 2014 extreme drought hit the region, and water scarcity meant long treks to taps with heavy loads to carry back. This is a task usually undertaken by women and girls, and often brings long-term body pain issues and missing school. It also means children five and under are at the highest risk of death due to diarrheal diseases caused by poor sanitation.

March 9, 2019 - India

It was more than a day to celebrate. International Women’s Day 2019 was a moment where many eyes opened to the significant and vast progress our women’s empowerment projects have set astride throughout India.

A few days earlier in Mumbai, Amma launched Amrita Janani Jagaran--a project by AYUDH Mumbai. It will focus on innovative ways to empower women in urban slums and rural areas by helping them overcome their physical, mental and emotional challenges.

March 4, 2019 - Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri

Anand is from the remote community of Meppadi, Wayanad in Kerala. He has reading and writing disabilities which have discouraged his studies over the years. He has dropped out of many courses, but now he sees a new future.

“This training has improved my reading skills and I am also slowly picking up writing skills. I look forward to class every day and never wish to leave,” he says. “The teaching is clear plus I have the support of my trainers and teammates. Even my family has noticed this change in me.”

February 26, 2019 - Miami, Florida, USA

Amrita Learning App is an English literacy app which people can use to study whenever they have available time--even before going to bed, on public transit, or at the laundry service. When the next opportunity comes, users easily pick up where they left off. It is available for free download at Google Play Store.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University) created the app for the Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE, a competition that challenges teams to develop mobile applications for adult literacy in the US. More than 36 million adults in the country lack basic English reading skills. The app was developed by AmritaCREATE (The Amrita Center for Research in Analytics & Technologies for Education).

More than 700 religious leaders gathered in Abu Dhabi for the Global Conference of Human Fraternity. The goal of the two-day event was to nurture brotherhood and tolerance between religions, based on the understanding that all faiths were founded to create peace for humanity.

Swami Amritaswarupananda attended the conference on behalf of Amma. In his address he said, “We need to have constant awareness that if we harm or destroy any aspect of creation under the sun—seemingly significant or insignificant—we are, in fact, harming or destroying part of ourselves, an element of our own being.”