For Vishwa Seva Dinam — A Day of Selfless Service in honour of Amma's 73rd birthday— AYUDH Toronto by joining the U of T Trash Team's clean-up of AE Crookes Park in Mississauga on Sunday, September 27.
If we clean a sewage canal with the right attitude, even that becomes service to God.
— Amma
It was a gorgeous, warm and sunny day near the shores of Lake Ontario. All volunteers were given gloves, bags for recycling and garbage, and instructions on how to collect litter safely. Then, for two hours, they combed the lawn, the playground, the beach and the bushes, seeking trash large and small. Despite the park seeming relatively clean at first glance, the volunteers found a wide range of items, from a discarded life jacket, to tiny plastic nurdles. One volunteer diligently catalogued every piece of trash found, generating useful data to inform waste management research and education.
By the end of the clean-up, everyone had gathered 8.31 kg (18.32 lbs) of trash, 4.62 kg (10.19 lbs) of recycling, and 0.33 kg (11.6 oz) of cigarette butts (hundreds of them)! The AYUDH Toronto team celebrated their seva and Amma's birthday with juice and snacks, thoughtfully provided by three AYUDH members. To learn more about AYUDH Toronto and join their activities, please email ammatoronto@ammagroups.org
