The event saw the initiation of 1,000 new AmritaSREE SHGs in Kerala, and CM Chouhan and Amma distributed seed funding and kits to members. The women expressed their gratitude upon receiving this much-needed support.
Amma said: “The moon shines from the sun’s light, and likewise, I am able to do all this via my children who are helping to make this happen. I will try to do as much as I am able, but it is my wish to do even more.”
Amma also inaugurated a program to provide $1,200 (₹100,000) to families of fishermen whose lives are lost at sea. According to the World Bank, India’s most recent poverty headcount ratio is $2.15 per day.
As the only breadwinners, many fishermen's households are brought to the brink when such tragedies occur, common as they are. The new initiative creates a support channel as they bridge to alternative ways to earn a living.
As the first beneficiaries, members of 11 fishermen families from the Alappad Panchayat in Kerala were welcomed by Amma to the stage and she embraced each one as they received her support and consolation. Having grown up in a family of fishermen, she deeply understands their sorrow and embraced each one as they received her support and consolation.
“As we saw today through Amma, these sisters got her help and Amma also alleviated their pain with a hug,” added CM Chouhan. “We request you to please come to Madhya Pradesh and give us your love and compassion. The River Narmada gives us water, but we need your river of love and blessings there."
AmritaSREE (Self-Reliance Education & Empowerment) includes 16,000+ SHGs in 21 states across India, as well as 1000 SHGs in the Andaman Islands. Most of the members are from villages and other isolated rural areas. Amma’s firm resolve is that at least one member in each family engage in a profession that is not reliant upon increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, especially fishing and farming.
It was in 2005 that Amma began AmritaSREE as an initiative to empower rural women to independently earn a living. This came in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami when families that depended upon fishing were completely devastated. ETW provides annual seed grants for the SHGs, as well as training in vocational trades that include tailoring, nursing, handicrafts, plumbing and electronics repair.
Photo 2: The Chief Minister expressed that he is deeply moved by Amma’s mission to serve the downtrodden.
Photo 3: CM Chouhan and Amma distributed funds to support families of fishermen whose lives were lost at sea.
Photo 4: The Chief Minister and his wife, Sadhna, traveled to Amritapuri to meet Amma.
Photo 5: CM Chouhan expressed that Amma’s humanitarian initiatives have deeply inspired him as a statesman.
