The Akshaya Patra Foundation was built on the idea that no child should be
deprived of education due to hunger—so far there has been no turning back. When
meals are cooked for millions of children, it becomes our priority to ensure
that the kitchen operations are efficient and food is delivered to schools on
time.
For our organisation to continue operating on a large scale, donation
options have been made available on the website. From vehicle donation to
sponsoring kitchen equipment or even donating in the memory of someone; you can
choose how you want to support Akshaya Patra. In an effort achieve quality as
well as quantity, we ensure that the kitchen equipment is sustainable and the
delivery vehicles are safe for distributing hot meals every day.
You can make a contribution of your choice and help us achieve our mission
of feeding 5 million children by 2020.
Donations options are available on
the website for Indian and International donors. At The Akshaya Patra Foundation, it is a promise
kept to feed a wholesome meal to the underserved children across many states.
With an ever-growing dedication, The Foundation has been feeding hot and
nutritious meals to more than 1.5 million children in India making it the
world’s largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme.
How will you benefit?
Donations to Akshaya Patra
are eligible for 100% deduction under Section 35 Ac / 80 GGA of the Indian
Income Tax. Once you have made the
donation, a receipt of the same and a 100 per cent Tax Exemption Certificate
along with a ‘Thank you’ letter will be sent to you via courier or post. The
certificate and receipt which will reach you within 10 days of making the
donation can be used to avail 100% tax exemption for the
respective financial year.
Akshaya Patra serves wholesome nutritious meals to the children. The
NGO for children aspires to be the mentor for these torchbearers, so that
they would not be devoid of their dreams. Akshaya Patra understands that nobody
is bigger than their dreams and that every dream should be given a chance. So
the dream project ‘Giving Every Dream a Chance’ was propelled where dreams
would become a reality and no dream would ever miss its chance.
It is dreams, thoughts and aspirations that make a child. Every child dreams big, irrespective of
their circumstances. Their dreams know no bounds. They dream of their
education, ambitions, wealth and career. They aim to be an engineer, a police
officer, a teacher, a nurse and what not! Not many would dream to be a chef, an
astronomer or an actress. Let us meet some Akshaya Patra beneficiaries who dream to transform ingredients
into delicious food, who dream of the skies that hordes the stars and who crave
to recreate the world anew through acting skills in front of a favourite actor.
The project is an endeavour to make the dreams come true for the threeAkshaya Patra beneficiaries who
were exclusively selected out of the multitudes of children that auditioned
across 40 schools in Bangalore.The NGO was proud to present the
dreams of its beneficiaries Manjula, Shivu and Shekar on June 11, 2016 at
Vivanta by Taj. Manjula aspired to be an actress; Shivu, an astronomer and
Shekar, a chef. Recognizing their passion, Akshaya Patra assisted them with a
two-month long mentorship program wherein the children were coached, groomed
and guided by the experts in their concerned fields. The motive behind the project was to assure the children that their
dreams are valid as well as promote their dreams to become true.
Manjula - The Debuting Actress
The founder of Bangalore School of Speech & Drama, Dr. Zulfia Shekh
mentored Manjula.The mentorship programme not only nurtured her as an
aspiring actor but also brought forward the opportunity of playing the role of
“Kittur Rani Chennamma” in the play staged at the end of her mentorship
programme Akshaya Patra further surprised her by managing to get the veteran
Akul Balaji, her role model to attend her debut performance as audience.
Watch the video of Manjula's dream:
Shivu - The Aspiring Astronomer
Shivu was put under the mentorship of Ms Preethi Krishnamurthy, Senior
Research Fellow in Astrophysics.Under her tutoring sessions and
practical guidance on astrophysics, Shivu explored the marvels of the skies and
the cosmos. At the end of the mentorship program Shivu successfully
created a working model of a telescope followed by a presentation regarding constellations.
Watch the video of Shivu's Dream:
Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju, executive chef at the Vivanta by Taj Hotel
mentored Shekar in cooking. He personally trained the boy in various
kitchens of Vivanta which gave him a unique opportunity to work with the staff
of Vivanta. Taj is even providing him financial assistance to pursue his
education to fulfil his dreams. At the culmination of the mentorship programme,
Shekar prepared a stylish spread that left the expert panel of judges
mesmerised.
Watch the video of Shekar's Dream:
In India, the aspirations and dreams of the rich and poor are
differentiated by the income of their parents. Everyone has a dream deep
within but to make the dream come true is not a joke. So theNGO for childrenwill
continue to provide platforms for the talented children with diverse passions and
interests in meeting their dreams. The aim of the project is to ensure
continued support to children, mentorship programs to nurture talents as well
as identify and nurture many more dreams across locations. The organisation
aims at providing scholarship support to 100 children who dares to dream
differently.
There was a time when the school premises were bereft of the shrillness
and joyful din of children, when classrooms were devoid of students, when
children sat with heads bowed down in pangs of hunger, when children craved to
have a square meal and accompanied parents to work. It was a time when
attendance was low and drop-outs were more.
Most of the children in government schools hail from poor backgrounds
whose parents are daily wage workers and cannot afford one proper meal a day. The parents are not ready to send their
children to schools as they wanted them to earn and have food at least a day.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s vision ‘no child in India shall be deprived of
education because of hunger’ has brought about a significant role in the future
of children in government schools. The NGO implements the mid-day meal
programme in collaboration with the Central Government and various
State Governments.
After the commencement of theprogramme, the pall of despair in
classrooms has changed to hopes of aspiration and dreams. The ambience of the
school has come back where the school premises are filled with the high-pitched
voices of students reciting poems, cheerful din of excitement and gleam, the
teachers teaching with a sense of decorum paused by a high sound of scolding
once in a while.
Let us hear from the children what they have to say of the secret impact
of the mid-day meal scheme.
Badal - Akshaya Patra Beneficiary
Badal whose father is a mason and mother a cook is able to attend school
regularly after the commencement of mid-day meals. He says, “I like all food
items, and kheer is my favourite.” He opines “the Mid-day meal programme
is good and it should be there as it helps children from hunger.”
AP.Shrisha,the class topper of Namma Kiriya Prathamika Shalley
School, says“Akshaya Patra’s food is very tasty and it increases
my concentration and helps me remain active in class.”
Darshan - Akshaya Patra Beneficiary
Darshan, whose father is a bus driver and mother a homemaker has been an
Akshaya Patra beneficiary since 2008. He says “I like rice and sambar served
by Akshaya Patra.” He further says “my personal favourite is Bisibelebath
served on Saturdays.” "The foods help me to concentrate in class", he
adds.
Harsha, whose father is a carpenter, says with enthusiasm that he
is able to attend class as hunger is no more obstructing his level of
concentration. He recites the full menu during the week and says that there is
not one day he hasn’t liked the meal. “I love the mid-day meals served by
Akshaya Patra especially the pulao.”
Every day my concentration in class is extended because of this
nutritious meal,” he adds.
We can see that mid-day meal scheme have solved
multiple issues as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, child-labour and malnutrition
among children. Children are eager to come to schools so that they get a nutritious
meal, which gives them the energy to concentrate and learn. It has reduced the
dropout rates with a reasonable increase in attendance. Teachers opine that
there was a time when children went home for lunch and would not return to
school. They now notice that afternoon attendance is almost as good as morning
attendance. Parents who cannot afford to serve a proper meal to their children
are more than happy with the assurance of one free wholesome meal a day for
their children.
So
let us donate to the NGO
so that it can reach out to more children.
Let us work together to serve children and end class room hunger. Let us
make others aware of the need to provide food for education. It
takes just Rs. 750 to feed a child for a year! Every donation of Rs. 500 or
above made to Akshaya Patra is eligible for 100% tax exemption under section 35
AC or 50% tax exemption under Section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax.
June 5th every year marks World Environment Day. This day brings to spotlight, the importance of our environment and the need to preserve the environment for the generations to come. This is a time to collectively address the needs of our Mother Earth and seek ways on how to save the environment. Undertaking this task is of supreme importance because, we the 7.4 billion-inhabiting this planet have only one thing in common and i.e. our home.
