Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, arrived in Amritapuri last night. He joined Amma to inaugurate ₹850 million (US $10 million) of economic support for the 200,000 women who belong to AmritaSREE’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
“Amma is a symbol of love, compassion, and nectar who is providing people with the basic means to live. I am blessed to meet you,” said the Hon’ble Minister.
Amma launched this year’s package with a third installment of additional assistance that began in 2020 to support the SHG members and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes financial aid, grocery kits, and clothing.
The event saw the initiation of 1,000 new AmritaSREE SHGs in Kerala, and the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Amma distributed seed funding and kits to members. The women expressed their gratitude upon receiving this much-needed support.
Amma said: “The moon shines from the sun’s light, and likewise, Amma is able to do all this via her children who are helping to make this happen. Amma will try to do as much as she is able, but it is her wish to do even more.”
Amma also inaugurated a programme to provide ₹100,000 (US $1,200) to families of fishermen when their lives are lost at sea. According to the World Bank, India’s most recent poverty headcount ratio is $2.15 per day
As the only breadwinners, many households are brought to the brink when such tragedies occur, common as they are. The new initiative of MAM creates a support channel as they bridge to alternative ways to earn a living.
As the first beneficiaries, members of 11 fishermen families from the Alappad Panchayat in Kerala were welcomed by Amma to the stage and she embraced each one as they received her support and consolation. Having grown up in a family of fishermen, she deeply understands their sorrow and embraced each one as they received her support and consolation.
“As we saw today through Amma, these sisters got her help and Amma also alleviated their pain with a hug,” added the Hon’ble Chief Minister.
“Similarly, let governments also be able to help the poor in this way with so much love and compassion. Amma’s gestures have touched me and I will also try to implement the same. We request you to please come to Madhya Pradesh and give us your love and compassion. The River Narmada gives us water, but we need your river of love and blessings there.”
AmritaSREE (Self-Reliance Education & Empowerment) includes 13,000+ SHGs in India, with most of the members from villages and other isolated rural areas. Amma’s firm resolve is that at least one member in each family engage in a profession that is not reliant upon increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, especially fishing and farming.
In 2005 Amma began AmritaSREE as an initiative to empower rural women to independently earn a living. This came in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami when families that depended upon fishing were completely devastated. MAM provides annual seed grants for the SHGs, as well as training in vocational trades that include tailoring, nursing, handicrafts, plumbing and electronics repair.
