by Rasika Soman - AMMACHI Labs, Researcher
November 17, 2021 - India

When we first began work in Ratanpur, Bihar, the unsanitary conditions in the village were heartbreaking. The people who live there are Musahars, a Dalit community that faces extreme destitution and poverty. Everyone urinated and defecated outside, as there were no toilets there, and people rarely took baths. They were not educated in basic hygiene and sanitation practices.

Since 2013, Embracing the World Kenya and Vision Without Borders, Spain have collaborated with local doctors across the country to perform free cataract surgeries. The teams have now completed more than 1,900 procedures, and this year, it happened despite the fact Kenya was under COVID-19 restrictions.>

With much of rural India still affected by COVID-19, AMMACHI Labs formulated an innovative online training program. The tailoring initiative supports skill development for village women in the field of sustainable fashion.

Across India, people are uniting to mobilize the future for the country’s girls, which actually results in uniting for the good of all. According to UNICEF, India has the largest adolescent population in the world, 253 million, and every fifth person is between 10 to 19 years. Both girls and boys lack access to information and resources that affect their quality of lives.

On her 68th birthday, Amma delivered an address that was webcast globally, as Amritapuri remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her message, she spoke about the pandemic, encouraging people to maintain hope and try to use the hardships they were undergoing to become stronger and more alert.

“When a disaster or event impacts the world on a global scale, we should view it as the karmic consequence of the cumulative actions of the world as a whole,” Amma said.

For more than 40 years, the birthday of Amma, Sadguru Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, has been celebrated in the name of selfless service. This year, which marks Amma’s 68th birthday, will be held as a day of prayers for world peace. Similar to Amma’s birthday in 2020, there will be no other celebrations.

India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which ranks the country’s institutions of higher learning, has given Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham an A++ after Amrita scored an impressive 3.7 out of 4 score.

This is the third time in its short history of 18 years that Amrita has been rated as a Grade A institution by NAAC, with the previous A scores in 2009 and 2014. Now, the university has become the youngest institute of higher learning in India to achieve the A++ level.

Amma has received an honorary degree—D.Litt. (Honoris Causa)—from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. The degree was bestowed upon Amma virtually as part of KIIT’s 17th Annual Convocation Ceremony in recognition of Amma’s “great contributions in the fields of spirituality, education, environmental issues, humanitarian efforts, love and compassion”.

At the Amma Center in Pontgouin, France, members are developing an ecovillage on a neighboring property. Their goal is to live nearby to support the center and its humanitarian activities, alongside a vision to create a community that embodies an ecological, supportive and respectful way of life for all.

Mathieu Labonne is the coordinator of the center, La Ferme du Plessis, as well as one of the people building the ecovillage. He shares how the experience began, where it is today and the outlook for its future.

The overall objective—to unite worldwide to share visions, bring together voices, and spark momentum for addressing challenges and co-building a bright future for all women and girls, especially within the fallout of the pandemic.

The channel—a gathering for all 36 of UNESCO’s gender-related chairs and networks. The W36 Global Summit was led by the UNESCO Chair on Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University).