Every year, a group of volunteers from around the world spend two weeks at an Amritakuteeram project.
They clear building sites and help with the construction. With their open heartedness and spirit of selfless service, the volunteers generate joyful interactions, much to the amusement of their Indian co-workers and local villagers.
They donate their time, energy, and enthusiasm, but the volunteers often say that they receive so much more than they give.
In the sharing of loving care across cultural boundaries and language barriers, the line between “giving” and “receiving” disappears, and volunteers and recipients find that they are not so different after all.
In truth, they even share a common mother tongue: the universal language of Love.
The Amritakuteeram International Volunteer project began with the Japanese Volunteer Student Association, IVUSA. Over time, volunteers from other parts of the globe have heard about the project and enthusiastically joined in. What is most remarkable is that for many of the volunteers, the time they spend at the Amritakuteeram project, long days of hard labour under the hot sun, is their only vacation for the year. Inspired by Amma’s own life of dedication and service, they choose to spend this time not for their own enjoyment, but to do something for the benefit of the less fortunate.
The international volunteer projects are outpourings of love and selfless service by Amma’s children from all over the world.
International Volunteer projects have been held in:
- Udayamperoor in 1998
- Perumbalam Island in 1999
- Kannadi Village in 2001
- Gujarat Reconstruction in 2001 and 2002
- Pune Slum Rehabilitation in 2003
- Tsunami housing in Ernakulam in 2005
- Tsunami housing in Nagapattinam in 2006
