Akshaya Patra meals provide sustenance to the undernourished

Pithali is a student of standard four in the Khudradadhi Lower Primary school in Assam. She comes from a low income family where the average income per month is between Rs.2,500 and Rs.4,000. Her father works as a seasonal mason, and sometimes goes without work for as much as half a year. Her mother is employed making Mekhala Chadars, the traditional outfit of Assam. Pithali, though so young, starts her day at 6am since she helps her older sister with the household chores before attending school.

Saavn and Akshaya Patra join for #MusicForMeals

Saavn, the leading digital music service provider in India, has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to help provide nutrition to the underserved children of India. They have launched a one-of-a-kind initiative called #MusicForMeals where they aim to feed 5,000 Akshaya Patra beneficiaries one mid-day meal every day, for an entire year!

The initiative is based on the premise that for every hour of streaming on the Saavn website or apps, the music service provider will contribute to Akshaya Patra. Saavn has pledged to make monthly donations, and has just completed a donation of Rs. 3.12 lakh to Akshaya Patra during February.

Talking about the vision behind the Saavn-Akshaya Patra collaboration, Rishi Malhotra the Co-Founder and CEO of Saavn says, “Our goal as a company has always been to be as impactful as the music we stream to millions of users every day. Just as we have become India’s music streaming service, we want the Saavn team and our users to make a lasting difference in the world, especially in India, where children are the next generation of students, leaders, entrepreneurs, and the future of the country.

We’re launching #MusicForMeals so that our users’ love for music can translate into sending children to schools for wholesome meals, on a daily basis. We are inviting other companies to join #MusicForMeals as it is an opportunity for all companies to collaborate and make a lasting impact. As we add millions of users and streams this year, we’ll grow our support for #MusicForMeals alongside it. We believe music can truly change the world in every way.

Akshaya Patra CEO Shridhar Venkat also expresses his pleasure saying, “We appreciate the philanthropic values of Saavn and thank them for #MusicForMeals. This initiative by Saavn will help in serving meals to many underserved children on school days, helping them with an opportunity to attend school, focus and learn.”

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Union Minister Visits Akshaya Patra Rourkela

The Rourkela kitchen in Odisha had a special guest recently. Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Steel, Mines, Labour and Employment accompanied by other dignitaries visited the Akshaya Patra kitchen on 2^nd February 2015. They were welcomed by Pancharatna Dasa, the Vice President of Akshaya Patra - Odisha, and then taken on a tour of the kitchen.

After completing the tour where the entire Akshaya Patra operations process was explained, Mr Tomar gave a written testimonial of the work the Foundation is doing through the mid-day meal programme. He wrote, “The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an honourable project... 57,000 school children are getting benefitted out of this program which is supported by Rourkela Steel Plant. Best wishes.”

The dignitaries accompanying Mr Tomar included the Chairman of SAIL, C S Verma; Director (Technical) of SAIL, K K Mohanty; Director (Projects), T Suresh; CEO of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), G S Prasad; and General Manager (I/C), P&A, RSP, P K Pradhan.

The Rourkela kitchen was constructed due to the donation of The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) who donated over Rs. 8 crore to Akshaya Patra as part of their CSR programme. The Rourkela kitchen today reaches out to Akshaya Patra beneficiaries across over 400 schools in the region.

Mid-day meal success story of NGO in Guwahati

There are many Akshaya Patra success stories from across all 23 locations where the NGO serves mid-day meal. Here is a heart-warming story of a child who is a beneficiary of the NGO in Guwahati. Mrinmay Malakar is a ten-year-old Standard V student of Khudradadhi Lower Primary School. It is about 12 kilometres from the main city of Guwahati in Assam. Mrinmay’s father is the only breadwinner of the house. He works as a labourer and also doubles up as a flower seller for some extra income. Yet the family income fluctuates between Rs. 2000 to Rs. 5000.

The mid-day meal served by the NGO in Guwahati comes as a relief for the family as Mrinmay receives at least one wholesome meal per day. The 5^th grader is very fond of the mid-day meal served on Wednesday and Saturday as he can relish on kheer, khichdi and vegetable pulao. At home the meal menu mostly comprises of rice, dal or pitha (a type of local bread made of rice flour) and vegetables or lentils are not regular items for the family. Hide and seek and cricket are the favourite pastime games of this beneficiary of NGO in Guwahati. He also provides a helping hand to his father for selling flowers. Mrinmay aspires to become a Professor and is determined to achieve it.

There are many such heartwarming Akshaya Patra success stories from this part of the country. Read them here and know the various dreams of the beneficiaries. Step up to support these dreams in your own feasible way.