Beneficiaries talk ...
Listed here are stories of a few Amritakuteeram Project (the project
that rovides free homes for the poor) beneficiaries.
 "Amma
is Divine." Laila lives with her daughter, Suhara, aged eight.
She is a Muslim. Her husband abandoned her seven years ago. She
was forced to return to her mother's house, where life was very
difficult. When Laila heard about the housing project, she visited
the local Seva Samiti and asked if they thought they would give
a house to a divorced Muslim woman. They explained that there is
no discrimination on religious grounds. Laila got a house.
She helped as much as she could. She also helped another recipient
to build her house. Laila's mother, Pathumabeevi, describes how
terrible it was living together with Laila, and how they used to
fight all the time. She says that since Laila has met Amma, she
has changed radically. "She was like a rowdy - so terrible
was her anger! Now she's 75% changed", with much laughter she
adds, "Now only 25% is left." Laila says, "Amma is
Divine." Laila's sincerity and devotion to Amma impressed people.
She has visited Amma three times, taking twenty women from her neighbourhood
with her.
 "Dumbfounded."
Dasan is crippled and cannot do any physical work. He lives with
his wife, baby and mother, Kurumbakutti. He keeps a betel nut stand
where he rolls cigarettes and sells betel nuts. Dasan's old house
stood out among his neighbour's concrete houses. It was a rickety
thatched leaking shed. When he first made his application, he never
in his wildest dreams imagined he would get a house. Dasan says
he was dumbfounded that someone would help him like this. He feels
very grateful to Amma and would like to meet Her. His brother and
neighbours helped in the construction work.
 "We
are much happier now." This mother said: "We were staying
in my father's house before. We had no space. My husband goes every
day to look for work. We have a few problems. Our little girl was
born with her eyes half shut so she doesn't see well. My left arm
is paralysed. I cannot work but we are much happier now.
 Kumareshwaran,
a father of two said: 'I am a gardener on the local teak plantation.
I originally come from a village near Kanyakumari. I had an accident
while I was working at a construction site. A wall fell across me.
The bones were broken but not set properly. I'm wearing this clamp
to straighten the bones and make them knit together. My wife makes
bidis (cigarettes made from tobacco rolled up in dried leaves).
Our new house is very nice and my family is very happy now. Kumareshwaran
volunteers for odd jobs around the estate while his leg is recovering.
 "Now
we can live in dignity." Swarnam, 75 years old, has been lame
for six years. She had been living in a rented house in a village
nearby. Her daughter's family had no home and lived with her. She
relies on them for support.
Pitchai, her son-in-law, is a day labourer. He said: "We can
be free of rent here. I've stopped drinking. I feel more confident
now that we can live in dignity. We can leave our old habits behind.
"In the slum my children played in the mud. Here they can play
in a neat area and easily come back to me."
Laksmanamma lived in the slum under the bridge. She said, “We
had no bathroom and dug pits for water. We washed our clothes on
the ground and cooked food on stones. Then the fire came. Five people
died and fifteen were badly injured.
 “We lost all
our belongings in the fire, all our clothes, our cooking pots, all.
The government gave us Rs. 10,000 each. They brought us here and
we built new huts and made this colony. My husband and I work as
labourers. We are happy we can stay here. Before we had no water,
no bathroom, no electricity.
“Now we have everything for the first time. We have a fan
and a kitchen and bathroom. It’s really good. The flat is
very big. Down in the huts it’s very congested: up here it’s
very spacious and comfortable. I’m very relieved.
“My children are studying. In the slum they played in the mud.
Here they can play in a neat area and easily come back to me. When
Amma came she gave everyone a chocolate. She is like our mother.”
"Since moving in I feel more positive about life." Paneerselram
lives with his wife and son. He was an electrician until he contracted
leprosy. The disease started in his hands but for two years he did
not realize what was wrong. Now he takes medication, but cannot
work because of the pain. To make matters even worse, one day while
packing boxes in a carton factory he had an accident and lost his
thumb and finger. His hands are now badly crippled.
He said, “I applied for a house because I heard that Amma
was giving houses to handicapped people. I’m very happy here.
Since moving in I feel more positive about life.
I’ve even managed to help the organizers and have done the
electrical wiring in my own and two other houses. I met Amma in
Madras and She Herself gave me the keys to this house Herself. It
was a moment I treasure and I keep Her photo with me always."
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Amma 
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