Complexities of training women in rural villages

  Ammachi Labs uses technology to train women in Murugampathi Village, Tamil Nadu, India and sources markets for their products Murugampathi village is located in Tamil Nadu, 10 km away from Coimbatore City. It was adopted officially by Mata Amritanandamayi (MA Math) under Amma’s 101 Villages Project which was started in 2013.The total population of…

The Meaning of Life according to Neville Billimoria, Happy Soul Food Friday

I was in New York last week looking forward to lunch and the waiter greeted us with “What can I do for you”. I couldn’t resist shooting back “Tell me the meaning of life”. And he said – without a moment’s hesitation – “To love and be loved”.I jotted it on my phone. I can…

A4E’s aim is to overcome poverty at the root level through a more efficient use of capital and innovation.

Ode to Empowerment, Owed to the ‘Heart-ist’ in YOU Inspired by the Presenters at A4E, San Diego October 2015   It’s not important what you look at, What’s important is what you see, See me, respect me, remember me.   What good is sight, if you have no vision? Realize, with re-a-l eyes, There is…

Vijaya Raksha: A Movement for Respecting Women on Navaratri

Students of Amrita University are using this year’s Navaratri festival to launch an initiative designed to make respect for women‬ and girls‬ both cool and a matter of personal pride. Named as Vijaya Raksha, started with the blessings of Amma, the campaign aims to bring a social change through a religious festival. It is initiated…

Amrita University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to work together to “develop technology for societal benefit”

Mata Amritanandamayi Answers Questions about 100-crore (US$15 million) donation to clean the Ganges River, India

In the wake of Amma’s 100-crore (US$15 million) donation to Namami Gange, the Indian Government’s Ganges Cleaning Project, Amma has answered many questions about the donation, the project itself, and her views on the issue surrounding the project. Here are some of those. (Photo: Amma bathing in the Ganges River at Haridwar, 1989.) Q: Why…

UC Carbon and Climate Neutrality Summit at UC San Diego

The University of California (UC) renewed its commitment to fight climate change at the UC Carbon and Climate Neutrality Summit at UC San Diego Tuesday. University president Janet Napolitano assured California Gov. Jerry Brown and other summit participants that the university’s 10 campuses will continue to act as “living laboratories” for climate change solutions.  Shown…

A Young Woman in India Defies Expectations in Skill Training

   #UN_Women  #EmpowerWomen  Suvarnna’s father passed away when she was just three years old. Raised by her single mother along with her three brothers, she was encouraged to stay home and help out around the house. But Suvarnna had a dream. She wanted to learn the traditional technique of sculpting wood. Suvarnna’s family discouraged her…

Facebook’s Internet.org Innovation Challenge won by AMMACHI Labs’ MySangham (free online skill training)

Ammachi Labs  created My Sangham, an online portal connecting rural village women to online classes in the construction trades, potential employers, and each other for support.  This week Facebook awarded My Sangham the winner of their Innovation Challenge. ‪(#‎Facebook‬’s Internet.org ‪#‎InnovationChallenge‬ in India.) MySangham was selected as a winner in the category of top innovators…

Looking forward to meeting Tom Nazario, the founder and president of The Forgotten International, a nonprofit organization that does poverty alleviation work

#UN_Women. Am looking forward to meeting Tom Nazario mid November, the founder and president of The Forgotten International, a nonprofit organization that does poverty alleviation work in several parts of the world, as well as an attorney, child advocate, and law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. His expertise in children’s rights…