On Sunday, March 14th 2010, AYUDH Minnesota members gathered at the Ronald McDonald House Charities for the fifth service activity. We prepared a full course Indian meal and served it to 100 of the House’s inmates. The RMHC houses poor people from various countries who come to the USA for surgeries, treatment of disabilities, etc. They are provided with three meals a day and comfortable shelter and financial support for treatments, during their stay.

To know more about Ronald McDonald House Charities please visit rmhc.org

Embracing Life
Two Day Youth Camp organised by AYUDH America
August 21-22

Led by Dayamrita Swami & Bri. Ramanand
Ages: 15 - 30 years

For information:
info@ammadc.org

Download poster here

We are happy to invite you to the 6th AYUDH EU Youth Exchange
taking place from July 24 - August 1. 2010 at La Ferme du Plessis, France.

In today’s world people live like isolated islands. While the speed of our lives has increased, our relationship to each other and nature has decreased. The planet is in a state of emergency: taking more than he needs, man has created a serious imbalance in the ecological and social framework of the planet.

It is the youth that holds the potential to bring about a new spirit in society by not only caring for themselves, but also for one another and the planet. Only if we learn to embrace life in all its forms will we be able to create a bright and sustainable future.

Led by Br Shubamrita and Bri Dipamrita, this youth exchange brings together youth from all over Europe. Through talks, discussions and practical workshops the youth are invited to find comprehensive and practical answers to the challenges of our time.

Plus: Visit of Chartres, party, concert, bonfire, sports and lots of fun

For youth between 15 and 30 years of age.
Participants will receive an official Youth pass certifie by the European Commission.
Youth from Austria, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Spain,
Sweden and UK will receive a partial refund of their travel cost.

APPLY NOW

New this year: The 6th AYUDH Youth Exchange is part of the “Ecology Meetings” organized at Ferme du Plessis. There will be two youth camps taking place at the same time under this motto. The second camp is organized by GreenFriends-Europe for youth from all over the world and has the title “Experience Week”. It is for youth between 18 and 32 years of age. The “Experience Week” will offer participants an interesting and insightful experience by working on three distinct ecological projects as well as attending a variety of talks and discussions.

PROGRAMME

60 participants between 15 and 30 years of age from 9 European countries (Austria, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Sweden and UK) will take part in “Embracing Life”.

The EU will refund 70 % of the travel costs and certify the participation with the EU-YouthPass.

Experts on a broad range of environmental issues will visit the camp to hold interactive discussions with the youth, providing them with in-depth knowledge about practical solutions to pressing questions of our time.

Insightful talks by Br. Shubamrita and Bri. Dipamrita will deepen the participant’s understanding of the holistic dimension of sustainable living.

WORKSHOPS

There are four modules of workshops offered:

Community Service
Arts
Revitalizing
Ecology

Community Service: In order to implement the principles of a sustainable community everyone will be invited for activities like making bread in the wood-oven, harvesting vegetables in the garden or maintaining the facilities.

Arts: From dance to drumming, natural artwork to theatre, these workshops are designed to deepen the connection to nature and ourselves in a creative way.

Revitalizing: Tai-Chi, non-violent communication, meditation or martial arts classes are meant to enhance life-skills and foster personal empowerment.

Ecology: In these workshops the participants will work on concrete projects like creating their own portable vegetable garden or recycling trash into value.

Plus: Visit of Chartres, party, concert, bonfire, sports and lots of fun

BACKGROUND

For the past three years, Ayudh has been organizing youth exchanges sponsored by the European Commission. This vibrant and participative gathering has been very successful in bringing together youth from various cultural and social backgrounds, inviting them to discuss the core values they want to set for their lives. The gatherings have become a platform to empower youth to start their own projects back home in the fields of social service and environmental care.

The national groups participating in this event have strengthened over the years and provide now a dynamic European and international network with several transversal initiatives.
2010 is Ayudh’s green year. This was the opportunity for Ayudh to team up with GreenFriends and develop a specific programme on this topic. The exchange location was shifted to the ecological site of “la Ferme du Plessis” in France, opening a new horizon for participants.

THE VENUE

The Ferme du Plessis is located next to Chartres, one hour away from Paris by train.

This ancient fortified farm from the 12th century is located on 6 hectar of land, that offers huge potential for development. The farm was bought by Embracing the World in 2002, and has since then become a vibrant and dynamic organization, that embodies the very principles of sustainable living.

Accommodation will be in tents. Basic, but back to Nature!

APPLY NOW!

The deadline for registration is June 15th. We will provide the selected participants with complementary details by the end of June.

….application page…..

CONTACT

Please contact the overall exchange coordination at:

embracinglife@ayudh.eu

Or get in touch with your national youth leaders for further information.

AYUDH Austria: info.austria@ayudh.eu
AYUDH France: info.france@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Germany: info.deutschland@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Ireland: info.ireland@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Italy: info.italia@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Netherlands: info.nederland@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Spain: info.spain@ayudh.eu
AYUDH Sweden: info.sweden@ayudh.eu
AYUDH UK: info.uk@ayudh.eu

LINKS

AYUDH Youth Exchange 2009
AYUDH Youth Exchange 2008

“Embracing Life” is co-funded by the European Commission DG Education and Culture. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.

From the 23-25th of April, the first Spanish AYUDH Retreat was held: a complete weekend dedicated to Amma’s youth. The retreat was organised with activities and workshops specially designed for young people.
We all gathered on Friday afternoon, took some time to become familiar with the place, sign in and go to the afternoon bhajans.
Young people from different parts of Spain (Andalucia, Madrid, País Vasco, Catalunya) and also from the south of France slowly kept arriving. The retreat started officially on Friday after dinner, with the official presentation by Anand, the person in charge of Centro Amma-Piera. Afterwards all the activities and schedules of the weekend were presented, followed by some introductory ice-breaker games.

The next day we started with the chanting of the 108 names of Amma and with a yoga session. Before breakfast we also went to the Tulasi garden and offered our prayers to the Tulasi plants, that had been planted a week before at the ashram. With our chants we prayed for the Tulasis to grow strong and happy. We honoured the plants and trees and Mother Nature, thanking Her for all what she gives us.
After breakfast it was seva time. Half the group did veggie chopping and the other half recycling.

After the seva, we had a walk for peace through the olive trees and the ashram’s beehive chanting “Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu”. This really helped us to contact with Nature.
In a circle, we talked about our worries for the environment and ecology. The discussion centred on the importance of RE-USING and not only recycling, its advantages and disadvantages…From this everyone reflected on how important taking care of the environment is, and summarised their feelings in just 3 words. Each one of these words where put inside a box and mixed all together. Afterwards, each one of us picked three words from the box. With these words we each composed either a sentence, poem, song about nature and the environment. We shared all our pieces on the last day of the retreat.

In the evening, we continued with a Dance and Movement workshop, also with an ecological theme. We became seeds, being born, growing, dancing with the wind, moving, interacting… what a delightful workshop and so much fun! Very enriching!
During the weekend we also did the seva of serving the food and washing the ashram lunch and dinner dishes in our turn.
On Saturday afternoon, we participated in a theatre workshop entitled “The River of Life”. We played nature interaction games.. The group felt a real sense of opening, as young people connected freely… game after game, activity after activity. The theatre workshop was light-hearted yet deep, as we shared our experiences in a creative way. It was very interesting and fun, everyone liked it a lot!
In the evening, we joined the ashram’s Saturday satsang. That day the subject was also ecology, and Amma’s words related to that subject. The youth also participated in the bhajans and the arati.
After dinner, we watched a documentary related to ecology and taking care of Mother Earth. The documentary HOME was striking, clear and direct. It showed how human beings are treating Mother Earth… very interesting and highly recommended for everyone!
Sunday arrived and we started our day with morning yoga session, followed by mantra recitation at the tulasi garden.

After breakfast and recycling or veggie chopping seva, we planted an apple tree. We all planted while chanting lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. It was very nice to plant with everyone. Each one of us contributed a bit, and focussed on creating a caring environment for the tree to grow healthy and strong!
After planting the tree we practiced in preparation for the final performance. It was a great show, including our compositions from the day before, our theatre piece (with music!) We ended with a new song for Mother, written specially for this event and for the youth.
We ended this great weekend, full of energy, happiness and vitality and a little heartache over our departure… but we look forward with great excitement to seeing each other again during the next retreat in France this July.
Thank you everyone for coming, providing, sharing and enjoying!
Thank you Amma!
Om Namah Shivaya　

AYUDH Co-ordination Spain

On the occasion of International Earth day on the 22nd of April, the question we asked ourselves is that whether it would be correct if we just sit and see another Earth Day just go by or stand up and do something. As usual the unanimous response in Ayudh was to do something and be counted. And so we set in motion the plans to bring about a change first in ourselves and then in the society, the change that will make our planet a better place to live in.

Ayudh-Delhi celebrated Earth day by putting up installations at two of the major centers in Delhi. One was the Select City Mall Saket, one of the biggest and poshest malls in Delhi. The other was the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, the busiest metro station in Delhi.

The concept was that the people had to liven up the Earth – depicted by a dry tree on the verge of death with the leaves of their ideas, ideas of how they can make a change to the environment and our Earth. We would give them leaf shaped paper – on which they could write how they could bring about a difference and then put it up on this leafless tree.

The response at both centers had to be seen to be believed. In the Metro station the tree filled up with leaves in about 20 minutes! Then we had to put overlapping leaves up on the tree. People from all walks of life…rich and poor, old and young thronged the installation to pin up their ideas to the tree. Those who came first, then brought their friends and relatives along. The children had a gala time participating in the quiz contest organised for them. People were seen looking at what other people had written, certainly in order to know more of what they can do, in addition to what they had thought of. People pledged to follow what they were writing.

The success of our effort is in the fact that we were able to change the attitude of people towards our planet – While many spoke passionately about how bad they felt at the situation the earth is in and how helpless they felt in dealing with it. However they also said that our installation has helped them realise that there are many people out there sharing their concern and if each one is to do their part well, we could still save the Earth. Their despair had turned into hope and that they would be more cautious of what they do in future.

Another success was the publicity that Ayudh got. Many of the youngsters came to us to know more about Ayudh. The Ayudh members were seen giving them a detailed picture of Ayudh and the causes with which we concern ourselves. In the end we had many new joinees, willing to spend time towards the activities carried out by us. Moreover the authorities at both the venues were highly impressed with the dedication and commitment with which the Ayudh members went about their work. They were surprised at the how organised everything was, giving least bit of concern to them. As a parting gift, the authorities at both places said, that they would look forward to more such events being organised by Ayudh and that they would be given a chance to be a part of it.

It was a team effort from Ayudh-Delhi, a small drop in the ocean of effort that needs to be put up to bring the change. Everyone in the team enjoyed doing their part. The enthusiasm with which each member did their job was there for all to see. In the end the sense of achievement in the hearts of every participant was very palpable.

To conclude, inspite of the work that was done, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. With the grace of Amma, Ayudh-Delhi would always be up for all the activities, it can carry out.

AYUDH Delhi

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (18th of April) AYUDH groups around the world connected via a webcast on the internet to plant seeds together. After Amma has blessed and inaugurated the GrowIn’ project on her last fall tour in EU and USA, AYUDH community gardens have sprung up in USA, Germany, France, India and Australia. As a second phase of the project AYUDH wants to inspire individual youth to grow their own veggies at home, in whatever space they have available.

Planting a few seeds is simple – yet often one lacks the enthusiasm or basic knowhow on how to do it. Therefore, this initiative was launched to create a feeling of togetherness amongst the “green-youth” and provide them with professional guidance in setting up a small garden in their homes – on a balcony or window shelf.

The variety of veggies planted by the youth was as wide as the range of countries of the online-participants: German, French, Austrian, Irish, Belgian and Kenyan youth took part in the webcast. Also the Australian youth planted seeds on that day, but due to the time-difference they were unable to join the live-action. Every participant had prepared little country-flags, which were placed into the freshly planted pots, so that it can be seen on the photos when shared online where each pot is from. In order to document the progress of the plants each group will take photos of their plants in regular intervals and upload them online.

For many AYUDH groups the webcast was just part of a larger programme dedicated to organic vegetable cultivation. Here is the report of the Italian AYUDH group:

“For our first National Italian AYUDH meeting in 2010, we chose a cosy location on the shores of the Lake Monate in Osmate (Varese province) of Northern Italy and we started by preparing and cultivating a garden plot.

After freeing the soil from all weeds and stones, we sprinkled organic fertilizer and created raised flower beds for increased water drainage. Thanks to the mild temperatures, we could sow directly in the soil. We then covered the area with tarpaulin sheets to protect future seedlings from crows, sparrows and other birds.

As a part of this exercise, we planted potatoes, onions, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and even tulasi.

Two of our most enterprising members, Erica and Carol had prepared a “Growin surprise”. Peat pots filled with earth & various vegetable seeds contained one special surprise…amongst the promise of fresh, organic vegetables comes the delight of a secret sunflower! The fun begins in the next few days as participants will soon discover who gets the precious sunflower!

Even our lunch was themed to protect the resources of the world. It is said that the amount of water taken to produce average cow is sufficient to keep a destroyer ship afloat! As a result, our lunch was decidedly vegetarian!

Through an online linkup, we connected with our friends in Germany, France, Austria, Ireland, Belgium and Kenya simultaneously to hear their activities and share their ideas on this initiative …

The Growin project intends to support individuals by encouraging the cultivation of at least one plant. The excitement of seeing the first seeds break through the soil is amazing. Watching the progress of one’s plants is so fulfilling. Through growing, we are able to reconnect to our local nature and natural cycles of the earth. The delicious, organic goodness we get in the food we have grown helps us feel the benefits of healthy eating & natural nutrition.

At National and local levels, the project aims to create and support youth groups in the exchange of ideas, projects, seeds, knowledge and spread green homes and cities.

At a Global level, “Growin” encourages awareness of global challenges and changing behaviours to help make a positive impact on this earth.

Like the big tree that comes from a little seed, the open themes of the “Growin” range from green farming and agriculture to the many global issues such as those dealt with in the upcoming Milan Expo 2015.

Fotos of the “GrowIn Together” event can soon be found here:
Facebook AYUDH International

And here: Facebook GrowIn’ Together

The new AYUDH-e-magazine is available for download now. Have a look!

The third annual AYUDH US Youth Exchange, “Give Peace a Chance,” took place from December 26 to 29, 2009 at the M.A. Center in San Ramon, CA. Led by Br. Dayamrita Chaitanya, the exchange included a multitude of spiritual, cultural, and service activities for over 65 attendees. Besides daily yoga and meditation, one of the retreat’s highlights was preparing and serving breakfast and lunch for the soup kitchen at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. The Church was featured for its hospitality in the 2007 movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Each meal served over 1,000 needy individuals. AYUDH’s positive attitudes and spirit of channeling Amma’s message of love and service was evident. “Helping at the soup kitchen made me realize how much attention and awareness is needed in doing seva. It was nice to see how we could serve Amma through different ways,” said Lizzie Corley from New York.

Given the youth pledge to support Amma’s Green Year through ‘Growin‘ One Seed at a Time, AYUDH members learned about the benefits of organic farming and the potential harm of using pesticides with an inspiring activity led by Kalesh, an expert in the field. Members planted fava beans and built a compost structure in AYUDH’s organic garden.

Another feature of the retreat included a scriptural class on the 12th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Bhakti Yoga, and a bhajan class, both led by Br. Ramanand. He taught the Mahishasura Mardini Stotram in a unique and lively tune. AYUDH also learned the retreat’s theme song, from Sharani Eastman and Swarna Iyer. “Give Peace a Chance” was written and tuned by AYUDH Europe.

AYUDH members watched clips of Embracing the World’s humanitarian initiatives, pledging to support ETW activities in creative ways. Anu Iyer gave a touching account of her experience meeting children in Amma’s care home in Kenya. Local AYUDH member Shivesh Rameshbabu later shared, “This taught me about some of the problems in India and around the world. It made me want to help and think harder about ways to help. I may not even have to go out of my way to do this!” Ideas included eyeglass donation drives, holding benefit concerts, and using the Internet as a venue to both publicize and fundraise for ETW initiatives.

Each day, AYUDH members led the nightly bhajans and arati.

To conclude the exchange, all were treated to an interactive and inspirational class via webcam with Swami Amritaswarupananda, in which he gave valuable advice about rising to the challenge of being Amma’s youth. Following an enjoyable outing to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, AYUDH USA members returned home, enthused and energized to give peace a chance in 2010.