Human Rights Day is Integral to Akshaya Patra

It is important that children enjoy their life to the fullest. It's their birth right, no less than their human right. To enjoy their life to the fullest, it is essential that they are educated.

Education helps them develop the skills and also helps them prepare mentally to gain the most from life. But, this can’t be done with an empty stomach. Because education and food goes hand-in-hand. They need a full stomach meal to develop physical strength as well as to grow mentally. This will help them deal with the challenges in life with ease.

While nutritious food is a necessity, it is a luxury for many. One could donate for education in India by supporting NGO’s like The Akshaya Patra Foundation. This can ensure that your donation is used for the right cause. This way, you along with the NGO, can ensure that the rights of the children are being met.

Rights Protected

On December 10 every year, people around the world celebrate Human Rights Day. The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is the first global statement of international human rights principles on December 10, 1948.

The day holds importance for those who play a major role in ensuring that all sections of people are able to enjoy a minimal quantum of rights day in and day out. Be it the governments or the NGOs, all play their respective roles to ensure human rights are not violated and are, instead, defended.

It was about 70 years ago that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made. Since then, many nations have been in the forefront of the efforts to ensure that human rights are not violated, either of their own people or even of people of other nations.

Right to Food

The right to food is recognised in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25) as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and is enshrined in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11).

An NGO like Akshaya Patra, which is considered one of the top NGOs and many others ensure that basic rights of people such as their Right to Food are not violated. From its 34 kitchens in India, the Foundation has been serving nutritious school lunch to over 1.6 million children across the country. This has helped in success of many children who are now able to dream high in life.

It is crucial that non-partisan groups are able to ensure that the rights of children, in particular, are defended. On this World Human Rights Day it's necessary to remember and to remind everyone of the need to and the importance of human rights. It is crucial for the NGOs to play a role in India towards meeting the commitments made on the UN Human Rights Day.

You can also join the cause by making a contribution towards eradicating classroom hunger. Make a donation today.

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.

5 Threats to Child’s Well-Being

Children innocently dream about becoming a doctor, a scientist, an astronaut etc. regardless of their families’ social or financial status. They dream of owning a large house and eating in lavish hotels upon growing up even if they’re homeless and hungry in the present. Often, many of these dreams get shattered because of undermined development and helplessness. Being capable, we should help these children to get a better livelihood by doing some charity fundraising. Akshaya Patra, one of the top NGOs in India, gives us an opportunity to provide roots and wings to these kids. It identifies the following as the major threats to children’s well-being and strives for their outright eradication.

Undernourishment

Undernourished kids cannot grow into healthy adults. Hence, good physical, mental and emotional health of children should be ensured by providing them with all the vital nutrients daily. This stimulates their growth and makes them fit.  Each of 2.12 billion meals that Akshaya Patra has served so far has been as per the dietary norms of Central Mid-day Meal Scheme. Its mission is to serve 5 million children by 2020 while securing them a healthy life. Such visionary organisation should be supported.

No access to education

The only way to gain knowledge, fulfill one’s dreams and earn a better livelihood is by gaining education. If lack of money and resources become a hindrance to gaining education, it’s not only a misfortune for the children but also a failure on our part who choose to let things be the way they are. For them to grow up as vigilant and skilled adults, kids need learning. Akshaya Patra does its bit by providing mid-day meals as an incentive to encourage kids to attend classes.

Financial weakness

Sometimes, some brilliant talents go unnoticed because they fail to bring themselves to the notice. So many children don’t go to school because for them, working to earn meals is better than sitting in the classrooms with empty stomachs. There may be good painters, sportspersons, and dancers in the children who go for menial jobs. We should realise our responsibility towards the society that has helped us become what we are and engage in charity fundraising. Our tax-deductible donation can make a large difference.

No access to welfare programmes

There are many welfare programmes that run for benefitting the underprivileged children yet some are missed out because they are hard to reach, unwilling to join or cannot easily participate. As such, facilitating the kids to be able to get the benefit as well as expanding the programmes is important. This is possible only by maximising the support.

Ignorance of the capable ones

Giving some of what we have to the needy is an excellent way to feel beyond materialistic pleasure. Criticising the stagnancy of our society without contributing to its uplifting is unjustified. Thinking that somebody else will help the helpless is the greatest threat to the needy. A small donation is the least we can do as a contribution. A healthy and educated society is all we aspire.

Donate to charity today to experience the truth in the adage: no one has ever become poor by giving.

L&T Infotech Teams Up With Akshaya Patra Foundation For Promoting Literacy.

L&T Infotech has teamed up with Akshaya Patra Foundation for supporting a noble cause for promoting literacy. The alliance aims to educate 10,000 children studying in 35 government schools in and around this city.

As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by L&T Infotech, the company has proposed to sponsor mid-day meals of these children and provide a conveyance to bring the cooked food to the schools in a timely manner.

“The primary objective of this alliance is to encourage high school attendance, surge national literacy rates, decrease dropout rates and also to ensure that the children are well-nourished,” said Shridhar Venkat, CEO of Akshaya Patra. Further to this, the companies have signed an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) towards fulfilling the initiative. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO which runs the Mid-Day Meal Programme for Government and Government-aided school children.

Make India a Better Place for Girls

Girls are as important as boys. But many of us are yet to completely accept the fact and in several parts of India, girls are still considered as a burden to the family and treated inferior to boys. Moreover, they are denied some basic rights of children like education, freedom and nutrition.  Changing this picture is the main aim behind observing the National Girl Child Day on January 24 every year in India.

Compared to the past, the situation has improved significantly. However, we still have a long way to go to make our nation a better place for girls. There is no doubt that we will reach our destination one day. But to achieve this faster, we have to take care of several elements mainly education for girls.

This is because education is best way to empower girl children or achieve gender equality. An educated girl is not only an asset to her family but to the whole community.  Education gives girls the confidence and skills to work, manage and run a family and help in the betterment of the society.

Interestingly, educating a girl can help avoid some issues our society is currently facing including early pregnancy, malnutrition and infant mortality. Also investing in a girl’s education can bring more returns than that of a boy.  Research shows that an extra year in schooling leads to 15 percent increase in a woman’s future earnings compared to the 11 percent in men.  

Undernutrition is another issue which affects girl children in India. Shockingly, about 47% of teenage girls in the nation are underweight. An undernourished girl child will grow up as an undernourished mother and will give birth to stunted children.

Similarly, child marriage and early pregnancy are the other two issues which haunt Indian girls today. Millions of girls are still married off before 18 and become mothers at an early age.

In an effort to solve these issues and to highlight the importance of education for girls, the Indian Government has introduced several schemes. ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao,’ ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), ‘Nutrition programme for adolescent girls,’  ‘The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) – Sabla’ and the ‘National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education’ are some of them.

Also some NGOs have come forward to help girls. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of them. The NGO’s Mid-Day Meal Programme has helped improve girls’ education, helped bring them back to school and boost the nutritional status of girl students.

Educate Girls, Nanhi Kali, Rasta, Save a Girl Child, Plan India are some of the other charities who work for gender equality, girl’s education and welfare of girl children in India.

Despite all these efforts, India is still considered the worst country in the world for girls. On this Girl Child Day, let us change this image -join hands, fight these issues together and provide education for girls, so that India will become a dream land for girls across the whole world.