What Role NGOs Play in India and How Akshaya Patra is Contributing?

There are people like Sachin Tendulkar and Priyanka Chopra that have made the world notice our talent, on the other hand there are some who are trying to bring a positive change in Indian society by working and impacting at the grass root level. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such non-government organisation that’s playing the role of nutrition missionary in India since 2000 to eradicate undernourishment among kids and ensure that no child opts out of school because of hunger.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is truly demonstrating the role of an NGO committed to helping the cause of food and education in India. The noble acts of making donations in someone’s memory or doing charity fundraising for the needy are helping millions of children come to school every day. Know how-

1. Better living conditions for all

So many children in India have to do menial jobs at the age when they are supposed to attend school to earn meals for the day. The people in need are helpless and the capable ones cannot always manage to directly reach out and help. Here’s when an NGO’s role in India comes into play. The NGOs act as a connecting medium between needy and facilitators. Akshaya Patra, with the help of donations received by donors in memory of near and dear ones, has been able to serve over 1.6 million children in 13,808 schools across 12 states in India. In a way, this NGO is contributing and letting us contribute in providing better living conditions for all the underprivileged people of India.

2. Educated India equals better India

Most of the challenges that India is facing as a country can be dealt well by educating the uneducated masses in every remote corner of the country. Opening schools in all the villages is not the only solution because there are problems like classroom hunger too, that can prevent children from coming to school. In order to combat this problem, the role of NGOs like Akshaya Patra becomes crucial. By providing wholesome mid-day meals as an incentive, this organisation has been able to encourage students to attend classes and motivate them to achieve success in life. We may have no clue but doing some charity fundraising or donating in memory of beloved’s can be a gift of hope to someone in need.

3. Better reasons to be known for

Issues like poverty, illiteracy, slow progress, etc., sometimes overshadow all the goodness that India can be known for. Several NGOs in India are playing their role to fight such problems. They are striving hard to let India be known only for its growth and prosperity. Undernourishment among children is one of the major issues in India, against which, Akshaya Patra has missioned itself. This NGO aims to eradicate hunger which has proved to be an obstacle to learning. When the present is improved, the future can be better. And if a small help from our side can make any good impact, why not do it?

So let’s come together as a nation and involve ourselves in better causes. There’s no greater joy than giving someone a ray of hope. You may simply do some charity fundraising for the cause. Help a child today!

Food Vs Education - what's the need of the hour?

MFK Fisher said: First we eat, then we do everything else. So the quest for food is somehow more pressing than any other need. Millions of children around the world must work hard to get food, others go without food or still others consume food that’s not nutritious enough. 

Where in the priority of these children would be education then? If they go empty stomach every other night, how will they ever focus on studying? In a country like India, more than children, it’s the parents who constantly suffer from this dilemma. Should they fend for their children first or think about their education? 

Top NGOs in the country are striving to provide food and education to children so they never have to choose between the two most crucial aspects of a child’s growth. Akshaya Patra, however, went one step ahead and decided to incentivise education. When children come to school, they get mid-day meal free of cost. As a result, children are motivated to come to school while their parents feel unburdened of one-time meal so they can send their children to school every day. 

Combining food and education 

While as a basic physical need, the choice is obvious between food and education, yet both are equally important. When Akshaya Patra Foundation, which is today one of the top NGOs in the country channelising charity fundraising for education, set off on its mission to feed the children, it planned both food and education together. In active partnership with the government, the organisation succeeded in providing mid-day meals to millions of children in India. Akshaya Patra completed 2 billion meals in August 2016 and aims at establishing more centralised kitchens to reach out to more schools in 2017. 

With its mission of Food for Education, the organisation channelised schools, volunteers, parents and teachers to spread awareness about sending children to schools. The mid-day meal scheme had two-fold effect. On one hand, it helped in feeding children in schools and solved their problem of at least one-time meal. On the other hand, it encouraged parents to send all their children to school so no child in the family was deprived of education. 

But what was truly unexpected were the various aspirations that got wings in schools. There have been several children who didn’t know that if they were fed well, they would have the time to think about their future or dream about what they want to become as they grow up. Several hope stories emerged out when children came up to share their dreams and ambitions. 

We realised during this journey that food and education are intrinsically related. It’s true that good nutrition boosts the growth of the immune system. This enables children to pursue things other than just the physical needs such as food or sleep. The children who are well-fed find themselves full of energy and motivation to achieve and think. 

Akshaya Patra also engaged several other corporate organisations and individuals encouraging them to donate for a cause such as this. All charity donations going to the organisation are tax deductible donations. 

The Food for Education mission was aimed 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 us.