Amma's Tsunami Relief Efforts

From Then Till Now

June, 2005

Above 20,000 people were at Amritapuri, including devotees, 1500 international visitors, and 3000 M. A. Math's (Mata Amritanandamayi Math) residents.

Initially the M. A. Math accommodated 600 families at the Amrita University, which consists of an engineering school, a computer institute, and an Ayurveda School. When the nearby government schools reopened, the M. A. Math also provided accommodation for the 2000 refugee families who had been living there.

Some families who were staying in makeshift structures in nearby temple premises did not feel that the women were safe there. So, those 1500 additional families were also accommodated at Amrita University.

Six ambulances from AIMS, the M. A. Math's charitable hospital in Cochin, were sent to nearby areas in Kollam district to facilitate doctors and nurses in treating the distressed and injured. In addition, four ambulances each were deployed in the affected area in Tamil Nadu and Cochin.

Besides relief camps around Amma's village, camps were set up in other parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands
In India, the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts are taking place in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Amma’s volunteers serve refugees at the Amrita University relief camps and the 12 government relief centers in Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, Amma’s volunteers serve the refugees in Nagappatinam, Chennai, Cuddalore and Kanyakumari

In addition to serving three meals a day to over 3600 families (18,000 people) in the Amrita University campus, hundreds of volunteers traveled from the Amrita University to serve three meals a day to between 12,000 and 15,000 refugees in 12 government relief camps.

The M. A. Math has distributed 40,000 sets of clothes in Tamil Nadu, 35,000 in Kerala and 15,000 in Sri Lanka. This includes shirts, kids wear, undergarments, sarees and dhotis. In addition, 30,000 blankets were also given out to the tsunami victims. Amma’s devotees from across the world assisted with the donations of clothing and food distribution.

In Kerala, the M. A. Math distributed 1.5 crores Rupees amongst 16, 000 families residing in the districts of Kollam, Ernakulam and Alleppy for buying cooking vessels.

In addition, those who are part of the M. A. Math’s pension scheme received 1700 rupees, and in Cochin, all the people were given 750 rupees immediately.

The current estimate is that the Math will be building over 6200 permanent houses. Presently, construction of over 600 houses is simultaneously going on in different locations.

In Tamil Nadu, houses will be constructed in Nagapattinam, Chennai, Kanyakumari and Cuddalore. In Nagapattinam the M. A. Math has completely adopted two large villages and is jointly adopting a third village with the Tata Company. The Math will also be constructing roads and community halls for these villages.

The Mata Amritanandamayi Math was the first non-Government Organization (NGO) to complete the permanent housing for Tsunami victims in India—houses were completed and handed over in Kochi, Alappuzha and Kulasekharapuram.

Amma’s visit to Nagapattinam: Amma distributed 6000 bags of rice, clothes and other provisions.

In Tamil Nadu, the M. A. Math is also donating 550 fishing boats, engines, and fishing nets. In Kerala the M. A. Math is donating 150 boats, engines and nets. On an average 7 families will be supported by each fishing boat.

Both mass and individual marriage ceremonies were conducted for hundreds of couples in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. All the expenses for the wedding including the ornaments and the formal dresses were provided for by the M. A. Math.

In her meeting with the Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunge Amma stated her commitment for building 300 homes for Tamil and Sinhalese tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and expressed her willingness to provide more relief aid, such as free pensions and the adopting of orphans.

Amma visited the Tamil relief camps in the district of Ampara. She urged the people to express their feelings and reassured them of solid support. She consoled about 5,000 people in Ampara and distributed 15,000 sets of clothing (sarees and dhotis) to each one.

Vocational training and jobs are being provided. Close to 2000 youths from the nearby affected villages are being trained for jobs in Amma’s institutions. 800 are being trained in fields of Nursing, Plumbing, Electrical and Security, while over 1000 are being trained to become drivers. In addition, 100s of tailoring machines are provided for free. The drivers are also given free eye check-ups.

Seven girls were admitted to the Bachelor’s degree program in Mysore to train as teachers, free of expense, and Over 100 women are being trained as tailors. In addition to providing free sewing machines and jobs, the women and students are also provided a 500-rupee stipend by the M. A. Math during their training period. After the training period these people will be offered employment in the various institutions run by M. A. Math.

Over 10000 children came to participate in the two educational camps held in the M. A. Math, first was held in the month of April with about 4000 children from the Kollam district and 6000 children from the Alleppy district attended the second camp in May. Each child was provided with a certificate of completion and a set of new clothing.

M. A. Math has been taking care of the food and clothing need of close to 10,000 families – for over 5 months now.

Along with providing bedding, M. A. Math also provided 3 pair of clothing for children in Kollam district and 3 pair of clothing for everyone in Allapad district. So over 16,000 families were comforted.

Also pension is provided to Tsunami affected families in the Kerala and Tamilnadu area.

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