KURNOOL: A 75-year-old woman has endeared herself to all as Amma for her service activities to orphan and abandoned children and destitutes.
Muthu Lakshmi, popular as Amma, started her social service activities after setting up Santhi Ashram at Kachapuram village in Mantralayam mandal of Kurnool district in 1981.
The ashram provides shelter to abandoned, orphaned and separated children aged below 14 years. Lakshmi, who hails from Kaggali village, spends all the income she earns from her 8 acres of agricultural land on running the ashram.
It is housed in a two-storey building with all the basic amenities. The ashram has nurtured as many as 2,000 children in the last four decades. About 1,000 children have also benefited from the welfare activities of the ashram. At present, over 50 children are taking shelter in the ashram.
On attaining the right age, Amma used to perform the marriages of the children brought up in the ashram, besides taking care of the needs of girls after their marriage. She has performed over 40 marriages of the children brought up by her, besides taking care of deliveries of the girls who got married with her blessings.
Explaining her service activities, Amma said her father Bhanam Anjanaiah was a contractor who settled in Bombay. While she was studying class 7 in Bombay, Lakshmi came to her native village Kaggali for a festival. On her return journey from Kaggali to Bombay in 1979, she was instrumental in rescuing an abandoned newborn near Tungabhadra railway station.
The incident motivated Lakshmi to set up an ashram for the abandoned and orphan children. With an aim to implement her service activities with dedication and commitment, Lakshmi had chosen to remain a single woman and continued her service activities after setting up the ashram.
Many orphan children brought up at the ashram have well settled in life, and started extending a helping hand to the underprivileged.Y Somanna, a semi-orphan who benefited from the service activities of Amma, is now extending a helping hand to his mentor in running the ashram after marrying an orphan girl nurtured by her.
There are also several others like Somanna, who are extending a helping hand to Amma in expanding her service activities through the ashram. The inmates of Santhi Ashram celebrate only one festival, which is Amma’s birthday on May 5. “Service is my motto. I am determined to continue my service activities with dedication in the future,” Amma asserted.