Sharing is Caring - Amma's Children

In this modern age, children learn to desire for more and more material things, and become increasingly restless for more. In the old days, children had fewer toys, but knew how to value and appreciate them. They shared their toys with their friends and sometimes even had to give them away to a cousin or a younger sibling Community living and sharing was thus fostered from a young age. Today many children end up playing in closed apartments by themselves, surrounded by video games and toys. Opportunities to share with others are rarely there, what to speak of thinking about those less fortunate than them.

Around Amma though, opportunities for sharing are abundant. Seeing children often come and give their piggy bank savings to Amma made me curious to know what inspires them do so. I have often asked the kids and their parents who they have been prompted by. Usually the mothers tell me, .Oh it was her own idea. She would say, 'Mom can I save some of my allowance money to help Amma's poor children.'.

At Amma's recent darshan program in Milano, I was not surprised to see three pre-teen children running a small stall filled with clay artifacts and decorative paper items. I tried talking to them, but could not communicate as they spoke only Italian. As I was looking for a local Italian translator to help me communicate with them, I found the woman who helped these eager children set up their store. As she was working in the child-care program on tour, she had been helping them make little Italian artifacts from recycled paper and clay. The children immensely enjoyed the projects and spent many hours absorbed in working on them.

One day, three of her pre-teens came to her with a proposal. .Can we sell our creations to make money for Amma's charities? We feel like doing something to help Mother take care of the poor and suffering. Moved by their sincerity, she agreed to help them. Thus the children's stall for the poor and hungry in Milano came into being.

The children's enthusiasm and patience while running the stall is quite impressive. While Amma was embracing people into the wee hours of the morning,the kids remained in their chairs minding their stall with huge smiles from dawn to dusk to dawn. I could not resist taking their picture to share their story with other children.

It reminded me of the popcorn kids on the summer tour in the United States who talked their parents into letting them open their own popcorn stand on tour to raise money for the poor. They too would sit and serve popcorn until Amma's programs finished. They even would be open between hours when most of the other shops were closed, just because they saw an opportunity to participate in Amma's humanitarian work. They were quite entrepreneurial at age 12, bringing out bags of fresh hot popcorn to the crowds waiting outside for their darshan tokens. This would bring smiles to so many faces, not to mention the ones who Amma's charities reach. Their parents would beg them to take naps but these boys would don their smiles and their little red aprons where they had hand-written Stop 'n Pop to go make a huge difference in the world. OK, they may have played a video game or two between customers but when any customer would come to the booth (I know from experience), they would jump up and offer us an array of different flavored popcorns to choose from. Their customer service came so naturally from their sincere hearts that even if we had to wait long for the popcorn to pop, they would entertain us with magic tricks. Amazed by the trick I asked the young boy how he did it, but... .Sorry, the popcorn has popped!- he said with his winning smile.

Amma transforms thousands across the globe - one heart at a time, with her embrace and unforgettable example. She successfully continues to spread her message, "A one-word solution to all the problems the world is facing today is compassion."

- Chitra

Amma in the west

Meeting Amma

Events Calendar