Math’s Corona Combat Support:
- Rs 10 crores will go to the PM CARES Fund and Rs 3 crores to Kerala’s CMDR Fund.
- Amrita Hospital is offering free treatment for COVID-19 patients
- A 24-hour mental-health hotline is being manned by trained professionals.
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India has exhibited commendable resilience where the medical fraternity, essential services sector and its people are throwing their might behind the government in tackling the scourge on a war-footing, cutting across region, political affiliations, social standing and religion. India has risen as one voice, as one people.
“Seeing the entire world hurting and crying in pain, my heart is aching deeply. Let us all pray for the souls who have succumbed to this pandemic, for the mental peace of their families and friends, for the peace of the world, and for God’s grace,” Amma said. For decades, Amma has been insisting on mankind changing its lifestyle to be more harmonious with Nature, warning that failing to do so would result in increased natural disasters and diseases. “The selfish things man has done to Nature are now coming back in the form of such epidemics,” Amma said.
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The Math, besides donating Rs 13 crores to help fight the Covid-19, is also providing relief to those physically, mentally and economically affected by the virus. Moreover, it has come forward to provide free care to corona-affected patients at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) in Kochi.
Since 2005, under Amma’s direction, the Math had provided more than Rs 500 crore in disaster relief, including the provision of financial support, household items, free healthcare and even construction of new homes.
At Amma’s request Amrita University and Amrita Hospital have set up a mentalhealth hotline (0476 280 5050) for people under stress, anxiety or depression due to the pandemic and its ramifications. Anyone can call to get free support. This was started after Amma requested doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists to set aside time to provide counselling, stating, “Counselling is a service needed at this time,” Amma said. “Please consider this as an appeal from Amma to doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists. Whether you are believers or not, set aside one or two hours every day to provide free counselling for those who need it.”
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Through its deemed university, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), the Math has also has constituted an interdisciplinary team consisting of more than 60 faculty from the fields of medicine, nanoscience, AI, big data, sensormanufacturing and material sciences, working in tandem to produce low-cost scalable medical masks, gowns and faceprotection visors, as well as ventilators, rapid-setup isolation wards, units for sterilizing medical waste, and IoT means for the remote monitoring of quarantined patients.
Through online classes and interactions, Amrita students are also being engaged in Coronavirus-related curriculum and service opportunities. The Math is also in regular communication with the leaders of its 101 adopted Amrita SeRVe villages, promoting Coronavirus awareness, ensuring that the villagers are aware of all the latest government-assistance programs available for them, as well as preventing fake news and erroneous information regarding the pandemic spreading within their communities. Some Amrita SeRVe villagers have been trained by the Math to tailor medical masks and are fulfilling government contracts to meet the demand and need of the hour.
“We need to develop the attitude that we are nothing but Nature’s servants. We should practise humility, servitude and respect. At least now let us stop throwing our arrogance in Nature’s face. The time has come to bow down before the forces of Nature. The time has come to beg Nature to forgive all our trespasses. The time has come to abandon the lackadaisical attitude that Nature will just forbear, suffer and forgive all the indignities we keep heaping on her. Nature is commanding us to wake up and look around. To awaken humankind, Nature is sounding a loud alarm in the form of COVID-19,” Amma warned.
