Amma’s healing touch for farmers, Children and Women

Courtesyy:Pioneer News Service | Kollam

Ø      Project to prevent Farmer Suicides

Ø      Free Education to 30,000 Children

Ø      Awareness Programme to inculcate Values

Ø      Promoting Self Sufficency among women

Ø      Loans and Self Employment projects for Women

The Mata Amritanandamayi Math has announced two new projects to prevent farmers suicide in the country. These projects would specially target farmers in Kerala, Maharashtra (Vidharba), and Andhra Pradesh, where failure of crops and unbearable debt burdens have been causing suicides not only by farmers themselves but by their families as well.

To provide free education to 30,000 children all over India would be the first project, a release from the Math said.

Children of farmers below the poverty line or children, who were forced to discontinue their education due to the lack of funds, would receive priority under this programme. Children, who lost their parents, or were abandoned by them, would also be considered for this project.

Children from all castes between the ages of 10 to 15, who were studying in any Government school, would be eligible to apply for the assistance under this project.

Such children would receive a stipend every month until they finished their education subject to their performance in their studies.

Initially, 60 per cent of the children would be from Kerala, with the remaining 40 per cent taken from other States. Those who were already receiving funds from any Governmental or non-governmental agencies would not be eligible for these benefits, the release said.

Subsidiary to this project, the Math is also planning for awareness campaigns including programmes to inculcate values. A newsletter containing articles, stories and discussion forums to aid in the intellectual and mental growth of these children would be circulated among the selected 30,000 students. Also, special camps for advanced education and symposiums on natural conservation and environmental hygiene would be conducted, the Math release said.

The release quoted Mata Amritanandamayi, the head of the Math, as saying, “Yet another generation should not become slaves of emotional weakness like suicide. Rather than that, they should understand that they need to develop self confidence. The future generation should have the mental strength to face life’s challenges.” She also said that an expert panel from the Math would study the causes of increase in suicide rates amongst the farmers.

The release said that during her South American tour, Amma had said, “The fertility of the soil is decreasing. The number of honeybees is dwindling. Honeybees are one of the insects that maintain the necessary balance in nature’s resources. The reduction in their population is indeed a matter of grave concern. As there is a need for detailed scientific research on this subject, I have already taken steps to initiate it. But, such research cannot be based merely on scientific facts. For such problems, we have to understand and become aware of the subtler factors involved. I have instructed students to conduct research in this manner.”

Other than the educational programme for children, the Math has also decided to initiate another project to give training in cottage industries to 5,000 women from farming families.

Upon receiving their training, the women would also be given necessary financial assistance to start their own businesses in their respective areas of training.

The Math was also considering discussing with both the nationalised and scheduled banks to provide loans for women, who had already established businesses, to help them expand their businesses, the release said.

As a part of this self-sufficiency project, devotees of Mata had started an organisation called Amritashree under her guidance.

This organisation would provide training to women in the manufacture of food and merchandise for daily use and would help them sell these products.

The Math would appoint committees to find appropriate candidates for both the projects, the release said.

Children and women belonging to the families of distressed farmers from various States would be selected after scrutiny. The first list of names of the selected candidates would be announced during Amritanandamayi’s 54th birthday on September 27, 2007. The first installment of the stipends for both the projects would be distributed on the same day, the release said.