45-year-old Amuthashanthy, a physically challenged since birth, has empowered more than 1000 physically challenged people. In 2005, she enabled them to stand on their own feet by establishing the Thiyagam Trust in S.S. Colony Madurai, South India.
She is the founder of the Thiyagam Trust, which provides self-employment opportunities to rural women with disabilities. The trust offers an environment where they can face life's challenges with enthusiasm.
She began her service in 95 villages in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu and works with 1355 physically challenged people in 15 blocks of the district, namely, Usilampatti, Vadipatti, Thirupparankundram, Thirumangalam, and Madurai West block.
"Education should teach children all the values of life," Amuthashanthy told RVA News. “That's why I offer evening tuition in many villages as a way to provide value through education. Even though it is trust, I give the emotional feelings of one family to all these physically challenged women."
Amuthashanthy drives inspiration from other physically challenging women whom she works with.
She offers tailoring training and the placement of poor physically challenged girls and illiterate girls, focusing on skill building for self-employment for regular income.
In rural areas, she offers counselling to physically challenged women to help them solve their problems and meet their needs.
She provides computer education to help them thrive in a growing competitive environment. Training is available in all areas, from introductory to job-specific. The girls are placed through Thiyagam Trust after they complete the training.
The trust provides free accommodation and boarding for differently-abled women outside Madurai whose parents have passed away and who have no one to support them.
There are three Self Help Groups to inculcate saving habits among women with disabilities.
Her efforts to teach computer knowledge through the Thiyagam Computer Centre have resulted in training 675 girls and 934 placed at the centre.
Amuthashanthy takes the initiative to organize medical camps, workshops, and special industrial training to empower Self Help Group members.
She started Thiyagam Cultural Team to create awareness and share knowledge with the physically challenged women about their rights, society’s concerns, and support.
The team members are experts in street play, dance, and awareness songs.
Through Thiyagam, Amuthashanthy helped 8892 needy women in higher education, sports, employment, training and health programs.
Kamala Thirumangalam stated that she had an accident and lost her hand due to unfair treatment and lives with her kids in a poor economy. Because of her (Amuthashanthy), I have learned tailoring through continuous training. This has increased my confidence to stand on my own feet because I have a profession in my hand.
"I am a physically challenged girl who can only move by crawling," Tamilselvi said from Peraiyur village. Because of her (Amuthashanthy), I am now receiving computer training at the Thiyagam computer centre.
"Thanks to her efforts and the confidence she gave me, I completed my B.A. in Tamil literature through distance education at Madurai Kamaraj University, at Madurai, Tamil Nadu," said Tamil Selvi.
Amuthashanthy was born in 1977 as the third of five children in her family, Suruli and Jeyamani, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Her parents admitted her to Avvai Ashram in Sivasailam, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, a hostel for destitute girls where she trained and module her personality with life skills.
She received an award from Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (MGR), the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a state-level essay competition during her school days.
After spending six years (1998-2004) with the physically challenged women (PCW) and Handicapped Welfare Association in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, she has worked dedicatedly for them.
She spent her time with various needs of physically challenged women when she was working as an accountant in Theological Seminary in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu, South India.
On December 12, 2008, she received Helen Keller Award – 2008, by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (PDP) by Shri. Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner, Government of India, Delhi.
Sister Margaret and Vivekananda Award was given by West Bengal Governor at Calcutta Trustee Margaret Foundation on December 22, 2017.
She received Madura Maa Manithar Award from Ayya Ramakrishnan Ji, Founder president of Amar Seva Sangam, Ayikudi, Tamil Nadu, P. Suseela, the Music Queen of India and VKT Balan Ayya, founder of Madura Travels in Chennai and media figure at Chennai on March 14, 2018
On March 07, 2009, she got Sadhuru Gnananda National Award’ 09 by Manava Seva Dharma Samvardhani, Chennai.
She was awarded on Penn Queen Award given by Kavasam Television, Mr. Deepak, Bank Manager, Chennai, in March 2019.
"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” she says.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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