We need your support for a new academic year!

If there’s one thing that parents dread, it’s convincing their children to get ready for a new academic year, especially after a good summer vacation. A new year can be fascinating but children always tend to be reluctant in giving up the carefree summer routine. On the other hand, there are many children who are eagerly waiting for school to begin because their lunch is taken care of. 

Akshaya Patra’s Mid-Day Meal Programme is currently available in 11 states including Assam, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. But before the schools re-open, the Foundation is looking forward to donors’ charity support which will ultimately help millions of children.

What is Akshaya Patra’s role as an NGO?

With a mission to end classroom hunger, Akshaya Patra began its initiative called the Mid-Day Meal Programme. If the students are provided an incentive to attend school, they get encouraged to complete their education. Its meals constitute a balanced diet that’s delicious and motivates the kids to attend the classes every day. This venture is spread across 11 states today. Akshaya Patra also feeds the hungry in Uttar Pradesh where the percentage of undernourished kids is high. 

How can you support us?

Because undernourishment and illiteracy are social problems, their eradication plans would inevitably involve the contribution of society. There are a number of ways by which we can help the efforts to ensure maximum attendance of kids in school. Donors have the option of sponsoring a school for a year, fundraising or simply donating some amount to charity and help in feeding the children.

As the schools reopen in a few months, remember that there are a whole lot of children who are in need of nutritious food. This is possible with your support towards Food for Education initiative by Akshaya Patra – an effort to aid 13,577 government schools in India. 

To encourage children to attend school, Akshaya Patra urges people to donate to charity, and most importantly, for the betterment of the future.

Water is an essential part of children’s nutrition

Most nutritionists recommend that children must get three meals in a day along with two parts of healthy snacks. As far as the lunch is concerned, Akshaya Patra ensures that school children get a proper diet through its Mid-Day Meal Programme. The organisation has fed over 1.6 million school children so far. 

Clean drinking water is an integral part of the Akshaya Patra school lunch menu that this top NGO serves to the children. Children are often never concerned about how much water they need for proper hydration. But water is an essential part of their daily nutrition. Water helps keeping their body temperature stable and it is responsible for carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells, protects tissues and organs, soothes joints and removes waste. 

Apart from meal time, children would typically drink water after playing outside and thirsting for it. It doesn’t usually strike them that they need more water. Children aged between nine and 13 need 1.6 litres/6 glasses (boys) and 1.4 litres/5 glasses (girls) of water every day. In the 14-18 age-groups, boys need to drink at least 1.9 litres/7 glasses and girls need to drink at least 1.6 litres/6 glasses per day. Apart from water, children can also be fed low-fat milk that nourishes them without giving them sugar or additives that are found in soft drinks or flavoured mineral water. Akshaya Patra encourages children to drink sufficient water after their meals. You can also play a part in this charity fundraising. 

Of course, children must be taught to consume more water during hot days or if they are indulged in a lot of outdoor activities or sports. In India, the easily available drinking water is tap water. But the good news is tap water contains fluoride that helps in developing strong teeth. However, the children who go to government schools in India often don’t have access to clean tap water at their homes. We ensure that a wholesome meal apart from clean drinking water is provided to all the children going to the government schools. These children can be benefitted through charity fundraising for Akshaya Patra. Donate for an NGO today.

Recognizing the Importance of Early Childhood Development

Every child’s development begins in the womb. As their body begins to develop during initial stages, they not only need constant care but also need quality provisions such as hygiene, diet and a good environment. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) fact sheet, Early Childhood Development (ECD) takes place from birth until the child is of eight years.

World Health Day, observed last week, helps us understand and recognise the different aspects of people’s health. Being considered as one of the top NGOs in the country, Akshaya Patra is doing its bit by feeding millions of children every day with nutritious wholesome meals and the organisation would like to reiterate a few factors that play an important role in the development of every child.

Child’s health

The initial stage of a child is sensitive and vulnerable – the child would need constant care as they go through feeding and development. Through clean water and good food, a child’s health can be prioritized. However, the most important checklist to ensure every child is healthy is vaccinations against infections and diseases. One of India’s wide spread case was polio and in 2014, WHO reported that India was polio-free (after having no fresh reports for three consecutive years).

Environment & experiences

Child’s environment and the experiences they go through help them in developing their mind. Let’s say, a child is visiting a park – the kind of environment, conversations, experiences and observations will define a child’s understanding about the surrounding. Therefore, it is very crucial to expose the child to a positive environment and also help them and allow them to experience different aspects of life – childhood and learning.

Education

Schools expose children different people, different subjects and will also brighten their mind with knowledge. The ECD phase (when the child is in primary school), they start forming discovering different subjects and topics of interest.

How is Akshaya Patra playing a role in children’s life?

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India feeding over 1.6 million school children every day with nutritious meals. The organisation takes pride in having encouraged millions of children, through mid-day meals, to enroll in schools and be a part of education system. With support from government, corporates, donors and many volunteers who have contributed to the cause, the organisation has grown in leaps and bounds. Today, the organisation is feeding the children in 11 states of India with Mid-Day Meal and Anganwadi feeding programme.

You can take part in our charity fundraising.

Feed the Hungry Today for a Better Tomorrow

Hunger in India is severe. According to Global Hunger Index 2016 report, 39% of India’s children are stunted. What is stunted growth? It refers to reduced growth and development of a child due to (but not limited to) poor nutrition and unhygienic practices. And to add to this, children who are stunted are also believed to experience health issues as they grow.

Today, as we read about it and make ourselves aware of the situation, we all have an opportunity to feed the hungry children – an opportunity to feed children today, for a better tomorrow. At Akshaya Patra, we are striving to achieve two UN Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger and Quality Education. As mentioned in the first paragraph, the organisation is working towards eliminating classroom hunger through Mid-Day Meal Programme (in partnership with Government of India) – an initiative aimed at improving ‘poor nutrition’ levels among school children.

Most of our beneficiaries are dependent on just one square meal served by Akshaya Patra – the meals are freshly cooked in our centralised and decentralised kitchens. As much as mid-day meal acts as an incentive, it is also important for Akshaya Patra that children attend school, learn and become independent in the future. Mid-Day Meal paints an optimistic approach for many families to send their children to school whereas for Akshaya Patra, hygiene and quality are of utmost priority that are not compromised with during preparation of mid-day meals. How does Akshaya Patra manage serving millions of meals on a daily basis? It is due to the support from government, donors and corporates decision to sponsor children that the organisation has been able to effectively operate the Mid-Day Meal Programme across the length and breadth of India.

To maintain effective delivery of mid-day meals, the Foundation uses GPS enabled customised vehicles that can support food temperature. With a growing network of delivery vans and distribution staff, the organisation has been able to deliver meals to over 1.6 million school children across 11 states in India.

The fight to hunger needs to be carried out with a concrete plan. You can play your part by supporting Akshaya Patra from wherever you are. The Food for Education mission aims at realising that both food and education cannot be pursued separately. They need to be seen and sought together. If you think you can be part of a noble cause such as this, you may engage in charity fundraising and donate to charity and win income tax exemption.