Education is important for a child but food more vital!
Children education is a very aspect in the progress of
the immediate society, and the country at large. But, an estimated 8.4 crore
children in
India do not attend school. It has also been reported that India is one among
the top five nations with the highest number of out-of-school children aged
6-11 years.
In order to tackle this situation and make India ready to embrace the title of
being the youngest nation by 2020 in terms of working age populace, the
Government along with many NGOs are striving to ensure education for all. But,
the matter of the fact is, to achieve 100% literacy, we need to first address
the issue of hunger because it is this very factor that pushes away children
from schools to work fields.
In an endeavour to counter
the critical issue of hunger, the Government initiated the Mid-Day Meal Scheme,
a programme that provides free school lunch to children studying in Government
schools and Government-aided schools. Over the years, this scheme has gained
momentum and has been successful in incentivising parents to send their
children to school with the hope that children will at least receive a plate
full of meal per day. The mid-day meals
have potentially increased enrolment rate, attendance rate, while also
countering classroom hunger and improving health and concentration levels among
children.
Several NGOs have
partnered with the Government to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. These NGOs are
able to bring about a drastic and sustainable change right from the grass root
level of the society. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of the pioneer
mid-day meal NGOs with a remarkable history of 18 years in service of children.
Each year this NGO in India runs a ‘Back
to school’ campaign with the objective to bring millions of its
beneficiaries back to school for a
new academic year. This year Akshaya Patra is campaigning to support continuous
schooling of more than 1.76 million children.
The real worth of being
able to attend school is understood only by those children who has to overcome
several challenges each day just so that they their place of learning. The mid-day meals and the lessons they
receive nourishes and nurtures them making them confident of achieving their
goals in life. Each of Akshaya Patra beneficiaries have their unique dreams and
this motivates the Foundation to bring more and more children under the ambit
of the school meal programme.
Today, you are resourceful
and moving ahead in life and career, a big share of it goes to the education
you received. Now, it’s time to empower the future generation. Come forward
generously and actively is support of the ‘Back to School’ campaign. Your
action will promote children education
by ensuring their mid-day meals for
the entire school year. Act now!
1 Census of India 2011
data
2 UNESCO’s EFA Global
Monitoring Report 200-2015
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