NEWS
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dear friends,
I am of humble origins. I am very familiar here in India with the lives of people living in
small squalid huts, their sufferings, and their struggle for survival. The oppression
experienced by these poor people -and I was among them - was strongly impressed
upon my mind even as a young child.
My mother lost her husband, my father, at the age of 32, leaving her and the children
without land, or any other source of income. Hers became a desperate effort to
maintain her family. Even today, I feel very close to her suffering.
The idea of serving the landless poor started at a very young age. My only prayer was
to study, and equip myself to work for the uplift of the most downtrodden people.
Fortunately, I became the first woman among the dalits ("untouchables") within my
community to study at the local school. In those days, there was no local newspaper.
I used to draw pictures of a small hut, and explain the suffering of the people, and
send it to all educated youth throughout the entire district, hoping to awaken their
minds and develop within them a commitment to service.
Throughout my life, I have been lucky. My prayers were answered. After graduation in
1952, I was privileged to be able to join Vinoba Bhave, as we walked from village to
village in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, obtaining gifts of land for the landless.
But something remained burning in my heart. The wretched, airless mud huts were
damaged every year by rain. Generally, the landless dalits live outside the village in
low-lying areas. They have become so habituated to their suffering that they hardly
pay attention anymore.
There was a woman living in a small hut near here that I couldn't get out of my mind.
After heavy rains last year, I couldn't sleep, thinking of the awful conditions of the mud
hut. In the early morning, I went to express my feelings to her. She laughed, and
replied, "This is not much suffering. When the water comes in, I place vessels to
collect the water as best I can. It is the best that can be expected."
I am now 78 years old, and have been working continuously to better the conditions of
the poorest of the poor for more than half a century. But I am thirsty. So to try to satisfy
my thirst, I select some huts every year and turn them into decent living quarters.
But it is not enough. My hunger and thirst is so great I must take up my housing
program on a mass scale.
People around the world have been so kind to take part in supporting tsunami relief
work. I feel like meeting each and every one of you who has helped to express my
gratefulness for your kind hearts and solidarity with the suffering people.
The tsunami was a very tragic event. Many lives were washed away, leaving so many
families in distress. We must be with them fully. At the same time, I want to appeal to
you, my dear, dear friends, to take up the problem that is so disturbing to my mind
and heart.
I wish to do something magical. I want to take paper and metal currency, from all over
the world, and turn it into decent, living quarters, with tile roofs. Each house costs
approximately $1,200 U.S. We would love for you to save up and contribute an entire
house! But if not, perhaps a roof ($250). or just the tiles ($150), or the rafters ($100). a
verandah ($50) door way ($35) , or a window ($25), or even, for the children, a single
brick (5 cents). ,
I am planning to engage 1,001 volunteers to build the foundations, and with your
contributions, we will begin to see an end to the squalid mud huts.
And I will sleep much better!
Copyrights | 2024 | lafti.net
I am of humble origins. I am very familiar here in India with the lives of people living in
small squalid huts, their sufferings, and their struggle for survival. The oppression
experienced by these poor people -and I was among them - was strongly impressed
upon my mind even as a young child.
My mother lost her husband, my father, at the age of 32, leaving her and the children
without land, or any other source of income. Hers became a desperate effort to
maintain her family. Even today, I feel very close to her suffering.
The idea of serving the landless poor started at a very young age. My only prayer was
to study, and equip myself to work for the uplift of the most downtrodden people.
Fortunately, I became the first woman among the dalits ("untouchables") within my
community to study at the local school. In those days, there was no local newspaper.
I used to draw pictures of a small hut, and explain the suffering of the people, and
send it to all educated youth throughout the entire district, hoping to awaken their
minds and develop within them a commitment to service.
Throughout my life, I have been lucky. My prayers were answered. After graduation in
1952, I was privileged to be able to join Vinoba Bhave, as we walked from village to
village in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, obtaining gifts of land for the landless.
But something remained burning in my heart. The wretched, airless mud huts were
damaged every year by rain. Generally, the landless dalits live outside the village in
low-lying areas. They have become so habituated to their suffering that they hardly
pay attention anymore.
There was a woman living in a small hut near here that I couldn't get out of my mind.
After heavy rains last year, I couldn't sleep, thinking of the awful conditions of the mud
hut. In the early morning, I went to express my feelings to her. She laughed, and
replied, "This is not much suffering. When the water comes in, I place vessels to
collect the water as best I can. It is the best that can be expected."
I am now 78 years old, and have been working continuously to better the conditions of
the poorest of the poor for more than half a century. But I am thirsty. So to try to satisfy
my thirst, I select some huts every year and turn them into decent living quarters.
But it is not enough. My hunger and thirst is so great I must take up my housing
program on a mass scale.
People around the world have been so kind to take part in supporting tsunami relief
work. I feel like meeting each and every one of you who has helped to express my
gratefulness for your kind hearts and solidarity with the suffering people.
The tsunami was a very tragic event. Many lives were washed away, leaving so many
families in distress. We must be with them fully. At the same time, I want to appeal to
you, my dear, dear friends, to take up the problem that is so disturbing to my mind
and heart.
I wish to do something magical. I want to take paper and metal currency, from all over
the world, and turn it into decent, living quarters, with tile roofs. Each house costs
approximately $1,200 U.S. We would love for you to save up and contribute an entire
house! But if not, perhaps a roof ($250). or just the tiles ($150), or the rafters ($100). a
verandah ($50) door way ($35) , or a window ($25), or even, for the children, a single
brick (5 cents). ,
I am planning to engage 1,001 volunteers to build the foundations, and with your
contributions, we will begin to see an end to the squalid mud huts.
And I will sleep much better!
| An Urgent Appeal from Amma ! |