"When we serve others, it is we, more than anyone, who benefit from the service. Selfless service fills us with satisfaction and joyand we become more expansive."Amma
Seva at Amma’s London Visit 2011
As you will know if you have served Amma before on any of her tours, it can be enthralling, exhausting, exhilarating and frustrating, but it is always worthwhile knowing that you have helped bring Amma’s message of love to so many people.
Stop Press
Last year we were very short of helpers on set up day. There are carpets to lay, tables to set out, accommodation areas to lay out, signs to put up, food to prepare, chairs to put out, a stage to decorate, stuff to transport, errands to run. The list sometimes seems endless. Will you consider joining us to set up? Many hands make light work and it would be great to start the visit with some energy left over!
What areas need our help?
The main areas are:
Before the visit
Transport
We need people to help bring stuff out of storage, to collect all the dry food and fresh vegetables and flowers, to pick up carpets donated by exhibitors at Earls Court after their exhibitions are over.
Before and after the visit, in the hall.
Set up and clear up
We need people to commit to coming on the Monday and leaving late on the Friday to set up the hall and clear up afterwards. Any who would be prepared to come in on the last morning would be especially welcome, if, say, you can’t make Thursday evening (Devi Bhava) or would be happy to miss it and arrive fresh. We all look a bit dog-eared by Friday morning, if we have stayed up all night!
At the visit
Catering
Food preparation.
So many thousands of mouths to feed, so many helpers needed. The biggest need is for food preparation, especially chopping vegetables for the delicious Indian and Western vegetarian meals. Most of the chopping is done by casual visitors wanting to do a few hours.
Serving.
There is a dining hall for the main meals, and a cafe and various stalls for snacks. There is a juice bar for serving cold drinks. We need servers (main meal, waffles, pizzas) runners, washers up, water fillers, table clearers…
Café
There is proper barista-style café run by AYUDH, the youth movement. So if you are under 30, this could be the place for you.
Washing up, kitchen cleaning, …
Services
Transport.
We always need drivers, especially those with their own vans and cars. And we need strong helpers before and after the visit itself, to bring goods out of storage and return them, to collect carpets from Earl’s Court where they are donated by departing exhibitors.
Seva desk
We need people with organisational skills to help us deploy all our willing helpers: there’s nothing more frustrating than offering to help, and finding that we can’t find work for you. That should never happen: we have never yet had enough helpers! And we need to keep track of who is helping so that we can contact everyone afterwards.
Recycling
You can imagine how much food waste and other rubbish is generated by thousands of visitors. And we are determined to follow Amma’s teachings and recycle it responsibly. So if you are drawn towards rubbish, we’d love your help.
In the Main Hall
Stewards, greeters
We need plenty of people to shepherd the visitors around, to welcome them as they arrive, to answer questions, to manage the queues.
Massage therapists
Are you a qualified bodyworker with certification and insurance? We’d love to hear from you, ASAP as we need to register you with the council
Certified child minders
Are you CRB checked and patient? We have lots of adorable children to care for.
Flowers
Are you green fingered? Could you help produce the garlands and flower arrangements to present to Amma?
Puja
We need 5 people to oversee preparations for the Puja on Thursday. Many more at the time, but 5 overseers.
Apart from that?
There will always be stuff to do on the day which we can’t plan in advance. We may need to move a few hundred chairs, chop more vegetables, wash dishes, clear up areas, etc.
