Young people must serve in rural areas for a year after graduation.

Living among
the poor, they will understand problems and find solutions. In this way, our country
can grow holistically.
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Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Amma

Chancellor, Amrita University
______________

Thank you for your interest in the Amrita SeRVe Fellowship Program. If you are results-oriented
and possess good leadership skills, and have a desire to serve, we invite you to be part of this
program. This document answers many Frequently Asked Questions.
1. As an Amrita SeRVe fellow, what is the work that I will be expected to do in the
villages?
India has the worlds largest rural population. The Amrita SeRVe fellowship program is aimed
at empowering villagers to improve their lives, while at the same time retaining all that is good
in their culture and in their surroundings. We expect the experience to be very rewarding for one
who is interested in bringing about the sustainable development of our country.
An Amrita SeRVe fellow will have the opportunity to work on several of the following tasks
a. Bringing the community together to prioritize and solve problems. Helping them
understand that there is much good inherent in their traditional practices; helping
document those and bring them to the fore front.
b. Government schemes exist to bring many benefits to villagers. But villagers are not
always aware of these schemes or they do not know how to avail them. Helping them
access such benefits.
c. Ensuring good healthcare and education services are in place for the villagers. Efforts
have already begun in this area in partnership with the Amrita Institute of Medical
Sciences and Amrita University, respectively.
d. Helping solve problems of alcoholism and tobacco, especially among youth. If the youth
have discontinued their studies, motivating them to enrol for certificate courses at
Amrita University, which will help ensure a better future for them.
e. Motivating farmers to convert to organic agriculture. This can also help increase farmer
incomes.
f. Helping women groups access funding and start home-based income generation
programs.
g. Solving water-related problems, without which almost no development is possible.

We expect our fellows to possess or develop, at the end of the fellowship period, skills such as
problem-solving in an unstructured environment, mobilizing human resources to collectively
achieve certain goals, managing and organizing all aspects of large projects and above all, good
and effective communication skills.
2. I am very interested in applying for the fellowship program. But I have already been
placed. If I do not join my company now, I am afraid I may lose the job offer.
Our University CIR Dept has offered to speak to the company on your behalf to see if the offer
can be deferred for one year.
You also have the option of joining placements again after the fellowship term is over, in case
you have not been placed this year. You will receive a certificate of appreciation from us, upon
the completion of your fellowship term.
It is likely that this experience will open many new avenues for you. It is possible that, after the
completion of the fellowship, you may want to work as a development professional in an NGO
or in the corporate CSR sector, and not opt for a regular run-of-the-mill IT job. Salaries in these
sectors today are very competitive and the work, perhaps much more rewarding.
3. During my fellowship tenure, will I be expected to live all by myself in the village?
It is hard to be alone in an Indian village. The community immediately rallies around to adopt
any Amrita SeRVe representative that is the experience we have had, over and over again.
Yet, you may want one of your colleagues to serve with you. If there are two village clusters
nearby, then two fellows can together serve in both clusters.
In other words, depending on your preference, we do have the option of sending fellows all by
themselves or in pairs of two to work in a village.
By living in a village for a year, you will be a very good role model for many of the village
youth who may think that life in the cities is better. Actually, life in Indian villages is much
more wholesome in many respects; and this fellowship will provide an opportunity to
experience this first-hand.

4. If selected, which village(s) will I be working in?

Amrita SeRVe is now active in 21 states of India. In many of these states, we have salaried
health workers, tuition teachers and coordinators. The map below shows the location of our

village clusters. Depending on the language(s) you know, and the preferences you indicated,
you will be placed in a village where you can help rapidly advance the work.

5. I have gone through the brochure and website. A lot of the work seems to involve
liaisoning with Govt offices such as that of the Block Development Officer. I am not
sure if I will be effective in this kind of work.
On the contrary, you will be most effective in this kind of work. You are a graduate and you
have the skills needed to navigate through the maze of our bureaucratic and administrative
setup. In order to prepare and submit applications on behalf of the villagers, you will have the
help of the villagers. Since you know English (and the local language), your interactions with
the Block Development Officer (and other officials) will bring desired results.
At the same time, this opportunity to liaison with Govt offices will enable you to develop many
important skills also that will be useful to you later, no matter where you ultimately work.

6. Why is the duration of the fellowship one year? Can I quit in between?
No, you cannot. In order for this to be a meaningful experience for you and the village you will
serve in, you have to commit to the full one-year period.
We will be happy to entertain requests to extend the fellowship period, if you desire to continue
working even beyond one year.
7. Amrita SeRVe has seven focus areas. But I am most interested in focusing only on
those areas that can help solve environmental problems that the world is facing today.
Yes, Amrita SeRVe does indeed include the following seven focus areas.
Health
Education
Water and Sanitation
Agriculture
Eco Friendly Infrastructure
Income Generation
Self Empowerment
As already indicated, work has begun in all our villages in the areas of Health and
Education. You can pick the areas that you have the most affinity for, and focus on those.
If your passion is to help solve environmental problems, then Amma has asked us to plant
trees and undertake rainwater harvesting in all villages. We are now ready to initiate
watershed development activities by planting lakhs of trees and emphasizing on ground
water recharging. We would be very happy if you contribute.
We are also ready now to work with farmers to convert to organic agriculture / natural
farming. We want to initiate income generation programs that emphasize the use of local
resources. And we want to strengthen traditional building techniques that are most
sustainable than most main-stream building technologies in use today.
If at the end of your fellowship program, you decide to become a social entrepreneur as a
result of your exposure to such work, we would be very pleased ! So yes, we do expect that
the fellowship will indeed give you a chance to focus on eco-friendly tasks in the villages.

8. Your advertisement said Amrita SeRVe fellows will help pave the way for
sustainable development. How can I equip myself for this task?
Most Indian villagers live their lives in such a way that their footprint on the environment is
minimal. In bringing about sustainable development in the villages, we want to recognize
what is good and strengthen it.
Your training and time at Amrita University has already equipped you to help bring about
sustainable development in the villages. In addition, we have prepared a set of video lectures
that will help you understand the nature of the problems that we need to solve.
9. I really want to work as an Amrita SeRVe fellow. But I took bank loans for my college
education. Will you be able to help me repay my bank loans?
All fellows will get a monthly stipend. In addition, food and accommodation will be provided
for free in the villages. We are sorry, but we do not have any provision at this time, to help
repay college loans.
10. What is the stipend amount? How can I apply for the fellowship program? Can you
tell me about the important dates I need to keep in mind?
Fellows will receive 10,000 monthly as stipend. In order to apply, please go to this link http://goo.gl/CkXIze
Some important dates for you to keep in mind
Last Date for Submission of Applications Online April 2
Shortlisting of Candidates and Personal Interviews April 3 April 16
Selection of Amrita SeRVe Fellows By April End
For selected fellows, training will likely be scheduled during June 1-15 and the fellowship term
will begin soon thereafter.
11. I cannot serve at this time, but my retired parents are interested. Can they apply?
We can surely consider an application from your parents. A large number of retired devotees are
already serving as volunteers and even if they do not qualify to be fellows, they can still
participate in some way. We will welcome their joining our team.