Mid-day meal’s Role in Bringing School Drop-outs Back to Class

It is Wednesday – that day of the week when the children are allowed a day off from their uniforms. There is unusual silence in the school; the students are busy writing their half-yearly examinations, at the Government Higher Primary School Boovanhalli.  As the time inches towards 1 o’ clock, a few students trickle out of the examination hall, and in a matter of minutes the ringing of the school bell ensures the children come out of the classrooms for lunch.

The teachers are ready. They have opened large steel vessels of rice and sambhar. The children begin to queue for their share of the mid-day meal. There are friendly pushes as each child is eager to get his share faster than the other. G Shahabuddin, one of the teachers says, “The children have benefited from the mid-day meal programme. Parents of most children leave early for work and return only late in the evening. So not every child is able to get lunch, hence it is this mid-day meal which ensures that children don’t go hungry.”

A conversation with the teachers reveals that children drop out of school due to various reasons. Renuka, a Kannada teacher at the school says, “During the census when we find that there are considerable numbers of children who are school drop outs, we conduct a summer camp called ‘chinnara angala’.  In this camp we talk to the parents and convince them that in spite of the difficulties at home, it is their responsibility to ensure that the children attend school. We also tell them about the mid-day meal programme and the other facilities that are being extended in the government school.”

A framed picture of the principal receiving an award from former President of India, A.P.J Abdul Kalam adorns the wall of the staff room. The teachers brim with pride, they explain that the principal of the school received the President’s Award for his contribution to the field of education.  When asked about the mid-day meal programme, he says, “Earlier we used to cook the mid-day meal at the school premises. Though the children enjoyed the food, it was a huge responsibility on us to ensure that the food is cooked on time, the vegetables are bought, cleaned and stored, the vessels are washed, etc. But today, with Akshaya Patra providing the cooked mid-day meal, we have to only supervise the serving. The food is good, regular feedbacks are taken by supervisors, so we have nothing to worry. All is well.”

It is the cumulative effort of schools like this that has resulted in the literacy rate of nearly 75% * in the district of Bellary in Karnataka. The school’s enrolment data shows that 900 children are studying this academic year, 443 girls and 457 boys attend school regularly. A few will drop out of school by the time they reach grade 10, but there will be many who will continue to study. Most will opt to continue their studies in ITI and Diploma courses. The teachers of this school in Toranagallu will continue to praise the students who have passed out of the school and today are role models for their juniors.  For many of them, Akshaya Patra meal has been the most filling and nutritious meal of the day. What makes the meal special? In their words, “sudta ide”, which translates into- “the meal is always piping hot.”

*As per provisional results of the Census of 2011Aks

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Inspiring Students Across Borders

A group of 21 MBA students from Mandalay University were on a business study tour to Bangalore with the aim to learn and take back with them some new ideas on doing business. This tour was a part of their 12 day training programme in India that was initiated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and the Myanmar government. 

Their visit to Bangalore was packed with lectures by professors of IIM on varied topics including management. Field tours were organized to visit prominent Bangalore based corporate campuses like Infosys, Biocon, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Himalaya Pharmaceuticals, 3M and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

The visits to the campuses of these organizations instilled lot of inspiration among the student group.  An MBA student, Phyo Myintzu said, “I want to introduce information and communication technology in the retail sector of my company",

Win Aung, was highly inspired by the work of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Currently a member of the German-Myanmar Friendship Foundation, an NGO that works on education and community development, Win Aung certainly would have experienced a common cord between both the organizations. Win Aung said, "I am really inspired by the whole idea of providing free food to 1.3 million poor children. I want to launch a similar initiative back home".  

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Akshaya Patra receives Win Aung’s statement as recognition for their decade long efforts of feeding and educating the future of India. The Foundation is happy that it is able to inspire and motivate students across the borders. This incident reinstated further the vision of the Foundation, “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”; and the mission of reaching out to 5 million children by 2020.

Akshaya Patra’s role in countering classroom hunger

Schooldays”- what are the many emotions that you can correspond with this word? Do you remember the class that used to be scheduled just before the lunch break? Most of us eagerly waited for the lunch bell to ring! Lest we realized during those days that it was primarily “classroom hunger”. Classroom hunger is a persistent situation. It is so critical that it has the potential to starve the learning mind of a child.

Classroom hunger results in lack of concentration, poor performance, and shrunk aspiration among children. To add to this state of affairs there are many children for whom even one single meal a day is a matter of chance. Even though these children have the will to learn, zeal to manifold their skills, and the determination to achieve, it is hunger that fizzle out all their hope. All they need is an opportunity, support and a meal that will feed the hungry stomach and allow the mind to think beyond food.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an Indian NGO works towards countering classroom hunger and nourishing the learning mind. It has been conferred as the world’s largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme. The Foundation is tirelessly working towards reaching out to more and more children across the length and breadth of India. Currently it feeds 1.3 million children everyday, in over 9000 Government and Government-aided schools across 19 locations of 9 Indian states. With the aim of reaching 5 million children in 2020, the Foundation is steadily spreading its operational activities around the country.

Here is a story of a little girl which describes the impact of countering classroom hunger:

Roja loves to spend time and chit-chat with her mother. Roja’s mother works as a domestic help. So, on Sundays when Roja has holiday, she accompanies her mother. Roja smiles as she says, “I go along with my mother because this way I can spend my Sunday with her.” As her father is a contract painter, he keeps travelling to different cities. To this Roja says, “It’s during such times that I miss my father.” An ambitious child, Roja wants to become a software engineer. She wants to score well in English as she fittingly opines, “In today’s world being fluent in English is very important.”

During her regular school days, her mother leaves home by six in the morning because of which Roja, her two sisters and her little brother comes to the Government school without having breakfast. She says, “I have got used to skipping breakfast but I love the afternoon food served in the school especially the rasam and rice.” This is one of the many schools where Akshaya Patra is providing mid-day meal to the children. This is also one hot meal that helps children like Roja beat classroom hunger. Here the benefit of the mid-day meal is threefold- Roja in particular and children in general are first getting a nutritious meal to feed the hungry stomach, second it is enabling them to aspire high and third they are attaining the self-confidence of expressing their opinions. 

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Beneficiary Mallika Achieving her Dreams

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Mallika is a Grade 7 student from GMPS Doddakalsandra, Bangalore. She is adored by her sisters and grandmother. She is one of the brightest kids in the family of 10. Her sisters were forced to discontinue their studies and start earning for the family. But her sisters are supportive when it comes to Mallika’s education.

One of them says, “There are times when we wish we had continued our education because we know that we could have led a better life than what we are leading at the moment. But we weren’t lucky enough. But we don’t want our little sister to face the same fate. We will help her continue her education as much as possible.”

Her mother too insists that Mallika needs to concentrate on her studies rather than be forced to do any household work. Mallika also puts forth her ambition and says, “I want to study and become a doctor to help the needy.”

Her aunt says, “For Mallika, her studies, her school, her teachers have always been the subject of any conversation at home.  She says, “Going to school has made me more confident of my abilities. I know I can achieve my dreams if I put in all the effort.

Earlier my English was poor. But the constant encouragement and guidance from my teachers has helped me improve.  I sometimes correct my sisters.” She pauses for a smile and then adds, “I have also learnt that we need to treat everybody with equality.”

Mallika is one of the beneficiaries of Akshaya Patra meal. Stories like these are the source of motivation for Akshaya Patra to reach out to more and more children in India in a steady pace.

Akshaya Patra Providing Unlimited Food for Education in Govt. Schools

“What’s in a meal?” or “What can a meal do?” The immediate answer is- it can fill a hungry stomach. Have we ever thought what else a meal can do? Often we have not. But, The Akshaya Patra Foundation gave an earnest thought to it. It realized that the goodness and potential of one meal goes far beyond just filling a hungry stomach; it reaches out till the generations that are yet to come.

It’s a fact that a hungry stomach cannot think of anything else but food. So, unless this basic need is met, it is evident that an individual cannot think of future goals. For the mind to think beyond food, the stomach has to be full. The same rule applies when it comes to learning or education. If we need a child to get educated, we need to first feed the child. For this reason, if a child is provided school lunch, it will simultaneously aid in furthering the cause.  This is where Akshaya Patra comes to fore. It works towards providing unlimited food for education.

Akshaya Patra provides school lunch to Government school students on every school working days through its mid-day meal programme. The inception of the Foundation dates back to June 2000. 12 years of its successful journey can be seen in its achievements and future plans. The crystal clear focus on its aim of reaching more and more children is evident in its current reach of 1.3 million children across India.

Here is an anecdote of a little boy that tells the power of one wholesome meal:                

Sunny Kheralia, a 13 year old from Rajasthan is a grade 7 student. His is a large family comprising of 3 brothers and 1 sister. His father works as a sweeper in a local hospital earning a very low salary of around Rs. 3000 per month.  Sunny is a brilliant student and has been scoring very high grades in his academics. He takes up his studies sincerely and enjoys the meal at school. An Akshaya Patra meal beneficiary he says, “I enjoy eating the noon meal provided by the Akshaya Patra Foundation.”

Sunny has grown up seeing his father sweeping the hospital corridor everyday. But with the education he has been receiving he hopes to bring in a welcome change in the family and especially in his father’s life. Sunny aspires to be a doctor and work in the same hospital where his father is working currently. This instance evidently brings forth the benefit of education, and potential of one wholesome meal, in transforming a society for better.

Akshaya Patra Foundation Improves its Kitchen Facilities

It needs no introduction. An entry into Limca Book of World Records; appreciation from none other than US President Barack Obama and its work as a case study at Harvard University! The latest addition to its achievements — churning out 40,000 rotis for children in just one hour.

Akshaya Patra Foundation, which runs the world’s largest school-meal programme, has improved its kitchen services by increasing the number of rotis produced to meet the requirement of children. The ‘roti machine’, which was first introduced in 2004 in Brindavan, had a massive task ahead of them. The foundation, which reaches 11.86 lakh children across the country, had made thousands of rotis for kids in North India.

“In that part of the country, children asked for rotis instead of rice. And preparing so many rotis requires more manpower. So we bought the unique machine,” said Vyomapada Das, who is looking after the kitchen at Bhilai.

HUNT ON FOR BETTER MACHINE

After Das and his colleague found that the roti-making machine in Amritsar was expensive, they decided to hunt for a similar machine at a reasonable rate. Luckily, they came across a person who could make ‘desi’ style rotis. After negotiation, they paid  Rs.12 lakh for it.

But there was a problem. The machine produced 10,000 rotis per hour while the requirement was to feed 5,000 children. “We tried to solve the problem, and we found out we needed six such machines within a space of 10,000 sqft. It would cost us between Rs 60-70 lakh,” said Narasimha Das, who is in charge of Brindavan kitchen.

When the team contacted the same machine supplier, the latter couldn’t improve the production count. “Then we contacted companies in the US and Holland. A firm in Holland suggested to increase the width of the oven from 0.9 m to 1.2 m and to increase the speed to 12 m per minute. The oven portion was also extended so that rotis can be fully cooked,” said Narasimha Das.

Aiding Akshaya Patra to feed 5 million children by 2020

“India cannot fully develop its economic potential until all of its children receive a proper education” was said by Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Technologies, in a Fundraising event of The Akshaya Patra Foundation held at Milpitas, California, United States, on 17 November 2012. Murthy also sits on the advisory board of the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA.

Speaking to India-West before the evening event at the India Community Center in Milpitas, Murthy said, “One of the most important ingredients needed for the success of our country is inclusivity through education. Every Indian is excited about this concept,” adding, “We must bring the power of education to every poor child in India. It is our path to global progress.”

With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, Akshaya Patra was founded in 2000 in Bangalore, India. The Foundation serves a daily school lunch under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme to 1.3 million low-income children in Government schools. Presently operating in 20 locations across 9 states in India, it reaches out to 9075 schools.

The meals are prepared in state-of-the-art ISO-certified kitchen facilities and cater to local palate. The programme aims to encourage more children to attend school and is aiming to scale up to be able to serve 5 million children by the year 2020. The organizers of the Milpitas event mentioned Akshaya Patra’s milestone achievement of recently crossing the one billion mark for serving meals.

“India has been making spectacular growth,” he said, noting that the country’s gross domestic product was growing by five percent. Foreign direct investment in India has risen to $30 billion, said Murthy, adding that the country was also “number one” in telecom services throughout the world. “But there is another India which is untouched by this spectacular growth,” said the Indian entrepreneur, noting that 700 million Indians live without proper sanitation and 280 million live without regular water supplies.

It is certain that the fund raised will be of significant aid in the progress towards achieving the mission of Akshaya Patra; thereby helping the Foundation in achieving its vision. Akshaya Patra sincerely thanks all the donors and the organisers of the event.

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal beneficiary Apoorva Inspiring Other Students

Teachers at the Karnataka Vidya Vardaka (K VV) High School are all praises for Apoorva M. The 10th grade student topped the school at the Karnataka State Board SSLC examinations with a score of 95.2%. The teachers say, “Apoorva is not only excellent in academics, she is a good orator too. She usually wins essay writing competitions, elocution, debate and other competitions not only at the school level but also at the inter-school level.

Apoorva says she enjoys studying as much as she enjoys participating in competitions.  She studied everyday for four hours and that’s why she didn’t find the examinations tough. She says, “The teachers also made a reference to the previous year’s question papers and that helped us to get us acquainted with the kind of questions that would appear.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation provides the mid day meal to the government aided private schools like KVV. Apoorva says, “I enjoy the mid-day meal as it is tasty. It actually refreshes us; we are all the more energetic and look forward to the afternoon classes.”

Even with financial difficulties back home, Apoorva looks ahead positively. She is ambitious and wants to become a doctor. Akshaya Patra is supporting Apoorva to realize her dream through Ananth Akshaya Education Initiative Scholarship.

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Akshaya Patra Providing Food for Children in India

There are various NGOs working towards various issues in India and around the world related to child rights, empowerment, social development, health and nutrition, education, and the like. Among all, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bangalore based NGO in India works towards countering hunger and illiteracy among children of India. It implements mid-day meal programme to feed the children in Government and Government-aided schools.

The Foundation started the school lunch programme in June 2000 by feeding 1500 children in 5 schools of Bangalore. This humble beginning has today scaled up to an organization that provides food for children in India across 9 states in 19 locations. Currently, the organization feeds 1.3 million children in 9075 Government schools with freshly prepared, nutritious meals every day. There are many children for whom the lunch provided by the Foundation is the only complete meal for the day.

These meals also act as a powerful incentive for parents to send and keep their children in school.  10 centralized kitchens of the organization are ISO 22000:2005 certified with the capacity of producing up to 1,50,000 meals a day.

With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, the Foundation is evidently moving forward; thereby serving the billionth meal in August 2012. This milestone achievement acts a great source of motivation for the Foundation to reach out to the mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

Apart from providing food for children in Government and Government-aided schools, it also serves the society with its other feeding and social initiatives.

Other Feeding Initiatives 

1. Feeding expecting and lactating mothers
2. Feeding the children in special schools
3. Subsidized lunch for the economically backward
4. Feeding runaway children
5. Feeding senior citizens
6. Feeding the homeless
7. Disaster Relief

Other Social Initiatives

1. After-class Tuitions
2. Life Skills Programme
3. Scholarship Programmes
4. Community Health Camps

Through the feeding initiatives, the organization is attempting to benefit more and more children along with other needy section of the society. The social initiatives help children in getting an overall personality development. Through the community health check-up camps, the nutritional and developmental milestones can be monitored. The organization works with the belief that education and nutritious food for children can bring about a sustainable change in the long run.

This change will in turn break the cycle of hunger and illiteracy. With this view, it is in constantly trying to reach out to more locations, to cover more schools, and also to increase the efficiency of the existing kitchens, so that more children can be fed. To achieve this, new technological innovations are witnessed and many pilot projects are run in the kitchens on a regular basis.

Join hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to feed the children of India who are also the future of the nation. Your support will not only provide food and help them continue schooling. This in turn will provide the children with nutritious meal and education; and also nourish his or her budding mind.

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Akshaya Patra Feed Children in Jaipur through Mid Day Meal Scheme

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Salman is seated on a woven cloth mat along with his 30 other classmates, the four-year-old eagerly waits for his teacher’s approval to begin the lunch.

It’s only when all the children have washed their hands and are seated comfortably, the teacher gives her approval to begin the prayer thanking almighty for the goodness of the day.

This prayer for Salman means more, it means he can have his tasty hot dal with rotis. He gobbles up the roti and asks for his second in a few minutes and then his third.

Nazia Tazeem, who is the school in-charge at the Rehmani Model Senior Secondary School, run in a mosque at the heart of the Jaipur city, says,”It is only from the last three years that our children are receiving the mid-day meal. Most of the parents are artisans, shoe makers and daily wage labourers, hence the health of the children was a major concern.

Today the mid day meal in the school has a positive impact on the children’s health and has also brought about the much required change.”  She later explains that most parents send children to the school primarily because they know that their children will get at least one nutritious meal enough to keep their hunger away till dinner time. The children studying the secondary school help their parents in their respective vocations after they head back from the school, and the mid-day meal plays all the more important roles in their lives.

The mid-day meal has been able to encourage parents to send even their girls children to school. The report cards and the school report show that mostly girls are among the toppers in their class.  The mid-day meal has helped the school in increasing attendance and enrollment among girls.

The Director says,”The mid-day meal has brought about a tremendous change in the drop out rate – it is less than 1%. In the primary school the increase in attendance is nearly as high as 70%-80%.” The numerous awards that now decorate the school office are a testimony to the children’s growth.

The school which started with just 50 students has now scaled up to 1500 students.  Good attendance is a boost to school which has made it also better in the quality of education that is now delivered - Montessori education for the pre-school and computer education for the primary and secondary school… shares the director.

The significance of nutritious meal highlighted by The Akshaya Patra Foundation has translated into the school authorities educating the parents on nutrition. But because they do not have the required financial resources, it’s seldom that they can meet the demands. It’s that time they truly are thankful for the mid-day meal that the children get in school that the Akshaya Patra feeds over 6,000 children in 30 madrassas in the city.

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Program in the Mining District Bellary

Ramesh and Anjali have been studying using a mobile torch. They have just two zero voltage bulbs in the house, but that too is rendered useless because of the frequent power cuts.

Ramesh is studying in grade 10 and Anjali is studying in grade 8. They both are toppers in their school; what makes their achievement laudable is the fact that they are financially disadvantaged.

The fifteen year old works as a cleaner during the holidays so that he can fund the stationary and other expenses that is incurred at the school.

The seven-member family which includes Ramesh, Anjali and their three younger siblings live in a small shed-like structure. A few years ago Ramesh’s father worked in the nearby mines and the housing facility was provided by the mining giant. But now, with the mines being closed, the family has been told to evacuate. Since they have no where to go, they continue to live in a shed like structure.  The children explain that they have to walk a few kilometers to be able to even get access to drinking water.  The family stays along with 30 other families in the area. With hardly any amenities or infrastructure all the families have the same tell-tales to present.

The Bellary district is a mining hub in the state of Karnataka. The major occupation of the district was agriculture till a decade ago. The mining industry boom saw many people abandoning agriculture and seeking employment in the mines. However, in 2011 the Supreme Court of India ordered a ban on mining in Bellary due to allegations of rampant corruption and illegal mining. This affected thousands of families whose livelihood depended on the mining industry.  Ramesh and Anjali’s father who worked in the mines had to look out for other means of livelihood.

Today the children’s father is a quarry worker. He is the only earning member in the family and his earnings vary from Rs 30 to Rs 200 per day. His father leaves home at 5:00 AM since the quarry is about 17 kms away from their house.  Ramesh shares, “The months which see good rainfall is tough for the family. Though it benefits the region, it proves fatal for those of us whose livelihood depends on the quarry. The rocks refuse to crack in those months and hence we have very limited earnings.” It is in this context that the mid day meal programme has proved to be a blessing for the family.

The teachers at the Rural High School P K Halli, say, “Though most of the children come from low economic groups, it has proved extremely beneficial for children like Ramesh and Anjali. It is during the growing years that children need good nutrition. If the children are hungry, how can they concentrate on the studies?”

The siblings love the mid day meal. In unison they say, “We are able to concentrate better after we have the Akshaya Patra lunch.” Ramesh is not only the school pupil leader but also is the captain of the Kabbadi team.  Ramesh recently led the school Kabbadi team reach the finals of the taluk-level sports meet. Ramesh wants to become a police officer and Anjali wants to become an engineer. The teachers are confident that they will achieve their dreams. The teachers are hopeful that Ramesh will top the school in the 10th grade public examination this academic year.

Every afternoon as Ramesh and Anjali enjoy the mid day meal along with their friends, a commitment for a brighter tomorrow is getting stronger, a dream for a better future is slowly turning into reality!!

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Mid day Meal Incentive at Bengre Kasba School increase Attendance Ratio

The story of significance of mid day meals in a school in the coastal region of Southern Indian Peninsula

In the coastal region of Karnataka, the months of June, July and August which mark the monsoons are tough for hundreds of families whose livelihood depends on deep sea fishing.  At the Government Higher Primary School in Bengre Kasba located in the city of Mangalore, the children are eager to come to school in spite of the heavy downpour. The Principal of the school, Juliet Pinto, says, “The attendance ratio is very good at the school. Though the district is known for a good literacy rate and the city is a well known educational hub, the children come to our school because the mid day meal is a lucrative incentive for them.”

The principal explains that the school is situated very close to the port which is locally known as “Bander”. Children come from households where at least one member of the family is associated with fishing and its subsidiary industries.  The monsoon months are hard on these families because of the ban on fishing. It is banned for two reasons: It’s the fish breeding season and also because the sea currents pose a threat to the lives of fishermen who go fishing. Hence the people from these communities survive of meager savings.

Tazeeb Anisha, a grade 6 student in the school says, “I like the food that is served in the school.” Her father sharpens knives for a living. He supplements the family income by taking up small errands at the port to support his eight member family.  There are many like Anisha who depend on the mid day meal for a nutritious and tasty meal.  The 20-odd classrooms echo in unison -“payasa”, when asked about the favourite part of the mid day menu. Payasa is a sweet prepared out of whole wheat, jaggery and grated coconut. The dish is rich in iron and proteins.

The principal of the school reiterates that the mid day meal is beneficial for the children. She explains that it was only in 2010, that Akshaya Patra began feeding the school. Earlier to this the food used to be cooked in the school premises. She says, “We used to face a lot of problems. There were labour issues. There have been times when the cooks wouldn’t report to work and we had to ask few women who live close by to cook. Additionally since we didn’t have proper storage facility, vegetables would rot easily.”

The school is situated about 15 kms away from the city and the most affordable mode of transportation to the school is the ferry. A few years earlier when the food used to be cooked at the school, the vegetables and other raw materials were transported from the port through these ferries. If the ferry was late, the food would be cooked late and hence the children would go hungry for a few hours. The teachers says, “Now with The Akshaya Patra Foundation providing mid day meals, we have no worries. All the children enjoy the food. As teachers, we can now focus on their education.”

Akshaya Patra mid day school meal mangalore beneficiariesHealth camps are conducted thrice a year, one of which is conducted by a government clinic which is situated close to the school. Incidentally the clinic was set up at the same time when Akshaya Patra began feeding the school. The health supervisor says, “Except for cases of general flu and common cold which is prevalent in the rainy season, the children have been found to be healthy.”

A trophy placed on the principal’s table tells a story of pride. The girls’ football team won an inter-school football match a few months ago. This perhaps reinstates the importance of nutrition and its impact – a goal hit right!

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Akshaya Patra serving the Billionth Meal to School Children

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization that provides mid-day meal to Government school and Government aided schools across 9 states in India. It operates in 19 locations and reaches out to 1.3 million children everyday. With the vision of “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”, the Foundation aims to reach 5 million by 2020. Recently, Akshaya Patra
celebrated the success of serving the billionth meal in August 2012. But, reaching this milestone was not an easy task. It required enormous effort, dedication, and sincere approach to coordinate, manage and run the entire process of Mid-Day Meal Programme.

At this juncture, we would like to attribute the Foundation’s success to many factors. Among all there were three key factors:

Our crystal clear mission and vision

• Mission: To reach 5 million children by 2020.
• Vision: No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

A successful Public-Private Partnership

The Akshaya Patra Foundation employs the Public-Private Partnership approach to run its operational activities. The Foundation runs its mid-day meal programme in partnership with the Central and various State Governments. These Government bodies support us by providing grain and cash subsidies to successfully run the mid-day meal scheme. Apart from the Government aid, corporate houses and individual donors also extend their generous support.

Our Operation Model

Our Operation Model has been driven to optimum functioning by a chain of departments coming together in a coordinated manner. No department in Akshaya Patra functions in a standalone manner. The profile of each department is structured in a way that it gets complete only when it is interlinked with other departments. This structural set-up of the Foundation, in turn has resulted in “Excellence in Operations”. The various departments involved in the success of the organization are:  

Akshaya Patra Mid Day Meal Program Nourishes Children Grow Stronger

 

 “Pulao, Rice - sambar, curd rice, sweet pongal, bisibele bath, tomato rice…,” a bunch of children join six-year old Dimple as repeats the Akshaya Patra menu when asked what she eats for lunch at the school. They answer while she tries to stitch a button- an exercise given by her teacher to improve her hand-eye coordination.

In the same classroom, Bhavya is teaching her classmates to dance. With the help of gestures she ensures that they understand her instructions. Her auditory impairment seems to disappear to oblivion as she successfully puts up the two-minute dance sequence.

Akshaya Patra mid day meal programme special childrenHer classmates are as differently-abled as her. Many of the children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, behaviour disorders and autism. There are 180 students like Bhavya and Dimple at Aruna Chetana – a school for the differently-abled in Bangalore.

The children are given various training and therapies based on their needs, their abilities and interests. This includes sessions on sensory stimulation, auditory therapies, physiotherapy, behaviour management, etc. At 1:00 PM the children assemble to have their mid-day meal which is provided by The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Gayathri Panju, the principal of the school says, “For the last 10 years, Akshaya Patra has been helping us by providing nutritious mid-day meal. Children love the Rice - sambar. Many of the parents say that the children prefer the sambar given by the Foundation than what is cooked at home.”

Most children at the school come from lower socio-economic families. Gayathri says, “Ten years ago, we didn’t have any support system like Akshaya Patra to provide mid-day meals, so most children would just get plain-yellow-coloured rice sans vegetables. Today the food we get from Akshaya Patra is fresh and nutritious, and this has resulted in improvement in children’s health.” She explains that just like in the regular day schools, the mid-day meal programme has been the key reason for increase in attendance by about 40% in the school.

Many children at Aruna Chetana have participated in international sports meet for the differently-abled and have brought laurels. The trophies and medals in the principal’s room are a testimony to this success. A gold plated frame with a letter of appreciation from the Karnataka state government acknowledges Aruna Chetana as the oldest school in the state for the differently-abled.

Aruna Chetana believes that every child has the fundamental right of access to education. Hence few of the children who are trained are also integrated into regular schooling after grade 5. Many of them today have completed their schooling, few are even employed.

While Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal nourishes these children to grow stronger, Aruna Chetana’s commitment helps them to harbour a very special dream.

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