We encourage youth to lead and serve with a heart-centered, global perspective, living in recognition that sustainable peace begins within.  All of our youth programs are a place for empowerment and healing.  Many of the youth we serve, including refugee and immigrant children, have experienced extreme poverty, child labor, gang violence, abuse and neglect; many have witnessed the atrocities of war and have literally run for their lives; many have been uprooted from their native cultures and struggle to integrate into an entirely foreign world.  We provide a safe space for these youth to heal, express themselves, share their stories and connect with a loving and supportive community.

The Amala Foundation is involved in a number of local, national, and international humanitarian service projects. Camp Indigo was started in 2001 and is now in its 13th year of offering a week-long day camp experience to Austin area children ages 4-12.  Camp Mana, now in its eighth year, offers a similar experience over two days in Hawaii. Our One Village Project, including the Global Youth Peace Summit, is in its 7th year and serves more than 150 local, immigrant, international and refugee youth each year. Our Young Artists in Service program provides free art instruction to at-risk children in addition to creating inspiring murals at places like the Austin Children’s Shelter.  The Gui Village Living Water Program was a humanitarian service project we successfully completed in 2005, installing two water wells in a Nigerian village, saving 3,500 people (including 2,000 children) from disease.  Our partnership with the Bhatti Mines School in Delhi, India helps ensure 200 Indian children a day are receiving an education instead of being forced into child labor.

While the Amala Foundation aims to serve the youth of the world, we are not a humanitarian service organization that only serves one group, population or community.  We are not limited by a singular mission.  We respond to needs as they arise, whether in our own community or in communities that cross our path.

Please note that the Amala Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  All donations to the Amala Foundation are tax-deductible. 

Impact The World From Within

The Amala Foundation provides opportunities for personal growth through humanitarian service projects that benefit under-served youth, including refugee, immigrant, American and International children.  We recognize that the most direct way to experience a fuller life is to serve others. We unite those seeking more meaningful lives with those in great need by channeling this inspiration into humanitarian service projects that matter.  It is through this transformative, holistic approach to service that youth are served and communities are united.  Youth that participate in Camp Indigo and the Global Youth Peace Summit are given opportunities to live a life of service through year-long programs like our One Village Project as well as Young Artists In Service.

Over the last twelve years, we have helped thousands of people find peace in their hearts and meaning in their lives through humanitarian service to others, while directly impacting the lives of more than 1000 youth in Austin and around the world.  Serving the youth of the world is an opportunity to give and receive in a very real and powerful way; it is an invitation to dive deep into the heart of Life.   As a volunteer, we ask that you show up fully — as you are — with a willingness to give, to grow and to be impacted.

Many volunteers have had experiences that forever alter their sense of self and their ability to effect change in the world. Here are just a few:

“Amala has definitely been a beacon on my path and I have boundless gratitude for this beautiful movement.”
– Michael Carberry, GYPS Counselor & Camp Indigo Volunteer

“The Amala Foundation has shown me the powerful gift that humanitarian service brings to the world and to my own personal growth.”
– Kenya Masala, GYPS Director

“Serving with humility, vulnerability and deep willingness to learn is how my heart thrives. I realized that there is no sorrow or pain that can not be healed through authentic giving.”
– Rocio Amir, GYPS Counselor