As we started doing registrations for the present 2-week tour, we expected the number of registrants to be similar to the recent tours. But with the crowd of westerners in Amritapuri not having reduced much since the New Year (coming down just from 1600 to 1200), we suspected that we could be facing a new […]
After major flash flooding devastated many of the himalayan valleys in Uttarakhand, Amma pledged to rebuild 500 homes in the area. The first phase of that work is going on in and around the village of Chandrapuri in the district of Rudraprayag, on the way up to Kedarnath. A week from now 73 Japanese university […]
The word Japan was heard in all the shops of Chandrapuri after our banner went up this morning over the main highway. 76 Japanese students from International Volunteer University Students Association will arrive next week to help with construction. IVUSA groups have helped with Amma’s housing projects annually for more than 15 years so we […]
As the full moon approaches, the air is crisp and clear. We had frost last night, then a bright, sunny day. I decided to climb the steep trail behind our building sites for a new view of the mountains. In the valley picture, our village of Batwadi rims the green fields in the foreground. All […]
Shanti Devi moved into a tent to be near her house when we first started to build. She has helped at every step, carrying water, rocks, timbers, and brick. Today she even tried her hand at filling in the cracks with mortar. Finally, she can see what her new home will be like. This is […]
For weeks now, we have been laying foundations and pouring the cement columns for house after house. It is critical work as the columns we build, firmly anchored and with extra reinforcement, will make an “Amma House” one of the safest in the valley. Today we started brickwork and it put everyone in a great […]
I have tried to point out some of the positive aspects of village life here. We can learn from these people, but there is also much that we can teach. Yesterday I watch ten older ladies learning to write for the first time. Their faces were beaming with joy at the opportunity to learn something […]
I see this building every day. It is directly across from our place of stay. It is always busy with people working around it. This morning at dawn, I noticed the light in the lower right window and finally realized people are still living there. Last night, Umesh asked how much I paid for the […]
Everywhere you go, you see them. Women carrying heavy loads on their backs. Mostly it is huge bundles of grass or tree limbs for their cows, but I have also seen a full gas cylinder weighing 70 pounds in a basket. This scene is repeated around the world in most agricultural communities. The striking thing […]