Amma Canada, formerly known as Amma Foundation of Canada, was registered as a charitable organization in 2003. Prior to incorporation as a charity, volunteers from the Greater Toronto area used to collect clothing, non perishable food items and household appliances and donate them to established charities such as Covenant House, Jean Tweed Centre, St.Felix Centre, Interim Place, Red Door Shelter,..etc. Similarly, funds raised through garage sales were donated to the charities. In addition, volunteers used to participate in soup kitchens at St.Felix Centre, Salvation Army and Scott Mission. In May 2008, the purchase of a property located at 9158 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown, Ontario, in the Halton Hills area led to an increase in the scope of the activities. A soup kitchen was started – a hot meal has been prepared once a month since June 2009 at the certified kitchen on the premises and distributed to the clients of Georgetown Bread Basket.

The association with St.Felix Centre continues. In May 2009 the children at risk from the Centre were taken on a full day picnic to the Niagara Falls area. In 2010 the kids were taken on a similar picnic to the Lion Park Safari in Cambridge and this year, the children from the Centre along with kids from a women’s shelter were taken on a picnic to Canada Heritage Park in Milton.

The property at 9158 Trafalgar Road consists of fourteen acres of cultivated land which used to be leased out to a local farmer. Since 2008 no chemical fertilizers or pesticides have been applied to the soil. Instead, a cover crop has been applied so that in the course of the years all the chemicals would be used up. At one corner of the land, a vegetable garden has been started, over half an acre, again without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. In addition to working on the property, volunteers have been planting trees in the Mississauga and Scarborough areas, and adopting a park in Brampton. Also on the property, two bee hives have been set up and the bees have been pollinating the neighbouring areas, during the seasons of 2009 and 2010.In 2010 the bees produced an impressive quantity of honey. The hives have survived the winter of 2010/2011 and the production of honey has also been satisfactory.

Other activities in which the volunteers have been involved with are the regular visits to the long term care centre for the elderly in Georgetown; working with the elderly in their homes, to offer companionship and teach the elderly to perform simple physical exercises to keep fit; teaching meditation techniques to the inmates at Maplehurst and Vanier correctional facilities in Milton and Fenbrook facility in Gravenhurst. Volunteers have also begun writing letters of support to the inmates at the Vanier correctional facility.

The above is a brief description of the activities in the Greater Toronto area. Similar projects have been started in other centres such as Montreal in Quebec and Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia.

Amma Canada is looking for other opportunities to serve the needs of the less fortunate in the community. We are confident that we can expand our role in a meaningful way to address these needs.