Honorable Prime Minister of India, Sri. Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, presented Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, with a special award in recognition for having made the largest contribution to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan during the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention, the world’s largest sanitation convention with over 50 countries participating, held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in Delhi, on October 2, 2018.
She was honored for donating Rs. 100 crore, which remains the largest contribution to the Swachh Bharat Kosh since the launch of the Clean India Campaign four years back. The fund has been used to build toilets for the poor living along the banks of the Ganges.
The Prime Minister thanked Amma for Embracing the World’s dedicated service to cleanliness and environmental protection. “I especially offer my pranams to respected Amma because ever since we started this work, Amma has taken this campaign very proactively on her own shoulders,” he said. “Inspired by various great people and humanitarian leaders like Amma, this campaign has gained immense strength and has transformed from being a campaign into a mass movement.”
The Prime Minister also thanked Amma for traveling to Delhi for the event, saying, “In this event marking the beginning of the 150th birth-anniversary celebrations of Bapuji [Mahatma Gandhi], it is a matter of great joy that Amma was able to find the time to come here in person, adding glory and prestige to this entire function.”
A video about Embracing the World’s cleanliness campaigns was played in which Amma said, “As soon as we wake up in the morning, we brush our teeth. Environmental cleanliness is just like that. It’s for our own health and wellbeing. If we clean a sewage canal with the right attitude, even that becomes service to God. In Sanatana Dharma, the Creator and the creation are not two different things. Cleanliness is the most important thing.”
Mata Amritanandamayi Math, that includes Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Amrita Vidyalayam schools. has been the largest contributor to Swachh Bharat Kosh and an inspiration to millions. So far, Amrita students and faculty members have participated in over 700 clean-up drives in the country.
