VIDEO: She has made it her mission in life: any woman or child of her Indigenous community who needs protection can come and stay with her. Gayili Banduk Marika Yunupingu has opened her door to those who suffer from domestic violence or consider suicide as the only way out. A mining company once offered Gayili, who is a Gumatj Clan Elder, three million dollars for the property. However, she refused because she considers it a duty to respect and safeguard her heritage.
Volunteers with Amma Italia have built a new multipurpose hall in the community of Valfornace. In 2016, the region was battered by a series of strong earthquakes that damaged several cities and villages. Valfornace had one hundred percent of its public facilities destroyed. In November 2019, Amma handed over the keys of the new center, much to the gratitude of community members.
Amma visited Amrita Children’s Home in Paripally, Kerala to celebrate 30 years of caring for the orphanage. A large gathering of alumni was also held to honor the occasion. In 1989, the orphanage administrators came to Amma and confessed they were out of funds. They said that before long, they would have no choice but to turn their 500 children out on the street.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and the University of Arizona are embarking on a multidisciplinary partnership in education and research. In one of the largest ever international university collaborations in India, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed by Amma, who is the Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Dr. Liesl Folks, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of Arizona.
VIDEO: Amma teaches that everyone, whether rich or poor, can make a difference in the lives of others. The doctors in charge of the Amrita Kripa Charitable Hospital in the remote district of Wayanad in Kerala are the very embodiments of this spirit. Dr Sanjeev Vasudevan and Dr Ajitha are a husband-and-wife team who are focussing on care for the region’s tribal people.
The climate crisis is one of the most urgent issues we face in the modern world, due to the finite time in which we have to solve it and the huge implications if it is not resolved. AYUDH, our global youth movement, has been focusing on ways to address these concerns – from tree planting initiatives to trash cleanups. In September, a group of marine science students with AYUDH’s chapter in a small town on the west coast of Scotland decided to also take to the streets.
Amma received a certificate from Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), which named Amrita University the number one private institution in India. Duncan Ross, who is the Chief Data Officer with THE, presented the award in London. In addition, THE slotted Amrita’s Health Sciences Campus in Kochi, Kerala among the top 300 in the world for clinical, preclinical and health studies.
VIDEO: Amma has spent her life helping people to experience peace and love. Today, she is a world-renowned humanitarian and global voice for the poor and needy. Best known for her practice of tenderly embracing all those who come to her, Amma has served as confidante and counselor to many of the 38 million people she has taken into her arms.
VIDEO: In collaboration with the Spanish organization Visió Sense Fronteres (Vision Without Borders), Embracing the World was invited to conduct another cataract surgery campaign in Africa. The Ophthalmological Department of Zambia’s Ministry of Health supported the initiative, and 140 procedures took place at the provincial hospital of Kabwe in the north of the country.
At Amma’s 66th birthday, Shri Rajnath Singh – India’s Honourable Minister of Defence – inaugurated the Amrita School for Sustainable Development. The department will have undergraduate, master’s and PhD programs that focus on areas in line with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The approach centers on students undertaking experiential learning in villages across India alongside classroom and research studies.