The Widow of the Jewels

      Amy Beatrice (a.k.a. Wilson) Carmichael (December 16, 1867–January 18, 1951) was a Protestant Christian missionary in India, who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for fifty-six years without furlough and authored many books about the missionary work.

      She was born in the small village of Millisle in Northern Ireland to devout Presbyterians, and in 1901, Miss Amy Carmichael of Millisle, Co. Down, moved to India and began rescuing children in need. In due course she built up a large Christian community. She remained at Dohnavur for the rest of her life, dying there in 1951, without ever returning to Ireland. The organization she founded was known as the Dohnavur Fellowship. Dohnavur is situated in Tamil Nadu, just thirty miles from the southern tip of India.

      Amy Carmichael or Amma, as she was affectionately called by everyone in her community, was a gifted writer who produced many books and hundreds of hymns and poems.