This Summer, Connect with Children and Gift Them a New Academic Year!

When you were in school, how did your summer vacation begin? It would probably begin with you saying goodbye to your friends and classmates but with an expectation that you would see them again. The holidays are fun and exciting but it is also nerve-racking to go back to school for the next level. While this is the norm, there are many children in India who do not get the opportunity to return to school. In other words, they drop out of school due to economic instability.

What causes children to drop out of school?

In this article, we have highlighted two issues (among many factors) that cause a child to drop out of school. While majority of children drop out due to migration, there are children who drop out of school due to financial difficulties in the family. 

(i) Migration: Also means relocation. For example, if and when the family moves to a different city or town on work prospects, they get their child enrolled in a school. After the work contract is complete, the family may decide to move to another town in search of income. This directly affects the child who is (not in all cases) forced to drop out of school before completing the academic year. In another scenario, although the child has completed the academic year, he or she does not get the opportunity to return to the same school. 

(ii) Financial Security: One of the main reasons for a child to drop out of school is because they would like to look out for other prospects; prospects that can help their family financially. School lunch programme has proved to stabilize these families as one meal is guaranteed for the child. Mid-day meal encourages children to continue education while their one square meal is taken care of.

These issues can affect children during the learning phase and in the future. According to MHRD report for 2014-15, the dropout rate for primary level was 4.34 per cent. Although there has been a drastic decrease in drop out and increase in enrolment rate, we need to change the situation for 4.34 per cent of children. To resolve these issues, the government has brought into effect several schemes and one of them is Mid-Day Meal Programme. Working along with government, Akshaya Patra’s Food for Education initiative has been reaching out to millions of school children every day. This NGO in Karnataka began its mid-day meal operations in Bengaluru in the year 2000. In 2016, the Foundation completed the serving of 2 Billion mid-day meals and this milestone was acknowledged by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. 

You can show your support by donating to charity and sponsoring a child for a year! By contributing to Akshaya Patra, you will also receive 100% income tax exemption.

10 Things to Know About Akshaya Patra in Karnataka

Currently spread across 10 states in India, The Akshaya Patra Foundation (TAPF), an NGO which runs the world’s largest mid-day meal programme, had humble beginnings in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Here’s how its presence in the state grew and strengthened.

1. Akshaya Patra was launched in Namma Bengaluru, Karnataka, in the year 2000, inspired by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s vow that no one within a 10-mile radius of his centre should go hungry.

2. The organisation had a modest start, serving free, healthy and nutritious mid-day meals to the schoolchildren of five government schools in Bengaluru initially. 

3. The road towards feeding children in the state was a rocky one in the early days. However, support arrived in the form of T.V. Mohandas Pa, former member of the Board of Directors of Infosys and currently, the Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, who donated the first vehicle for transporting cooked food to schools.

4. By 2004, Akshaya Patra had established itself as a formidable NGO in Karnataka and catered to the mid-day meal needs of children in the cities of Hubballi, Mangaluru and Mysuru. In 2006, this charity for children also had a kitchen in Ballari. 

5. Akshaya Patra prepares its tasty and wholesome mid-day meals in its kitchens in Karnataka, where the staff follows a strict protocol for maintaining hygiene. They wear hair caps, face masks, gloves, gum boots and other protective gear, along with showering daily and washing their hands regularly.

6. Four of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens in Karnataka are International Organization for Standardization –certified (ISO). These kitchens are – the HK Hill kitchen and Vasanthapura kitchen in Bengaluru, along with the ones in Ballari and Hubballi.

7. The Karnataka kitchens of Akshaya Patra are all centralised kitchens that are able to produce up to one million meals. They utilise minimal human intervention, as they are mechanised cooking units.

8. Karnataka has the highest number of Akshaya Patra’s beneficiaries. In Bengaluru, the HK Hill kitchen feeds 92,856 children in 466 schools, while the Vasanthapura kitchen feeds 101,635 children in 534 schools. The Hubballi kitchen cooks mid-day meals for 149,573 children in 789 schools; the Mangaluru kitchen prepares meals for 22,602 children in 147 schools, while the Mysuru kitchen feeds 16,668 schoolchildren in 66 schools. The Ballari kitchen cooks meals for 126,382 children in 534 schools. 

9. Numerous dignitaries have visited Akshaya Patra’s kitchens in Karnataka. These include former Indian President, the late APJ Abdul Kalam; Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus, musicians Sona Mohapatra and Ram Sampath, among others.

10. Akshaya Patra’s pilot initiative, Giving Every Dream A Chance, where The Foundation makes the dreams of school children come true by organising a month-long mentorship programme for them, was launched in Karnataka.

School lunch in Namma Karnataka by Akshaya Patra

Bengaluru, the city where it all began. In 2000, Akshaya Patra, an NGO in Karnataka, started serving mid-day meals to 1500 government school children in Bengaluru with an aim to end classroom hunger. The journey has been ceaseless.

With a flourishing quality education, Karnataka is among many other states that require attention towards reducing classroom hunger. We believe that quality education without basic necessities such as nutritional food for students is of no value at all. When mid-day meal in Karnataka became operational, many schools saw an increase in school attendance. State Hunger Index report, 2008, shows how hunger is still persistent across India and Karnataka, among many other states, falls in alarming category.

In 2003, the Government of Karnataka invited The Foundation to partner with them to implement Mid-Day Meal Scheme across the state. They have also helped the Central Government in implementing the programme across the nation. Akshaya Patra, an NGO in Karnataka receives sufficient aid from the State Government and from donors as well.

Here’s a quick look at certain aspects of Akshaya Patra’s presence in Karnataka:

1. Highest Beneficiary Base: The mid-day meal programme in Karnataka is currently available to 463,682 children across 2,629 schools which make the state the highest in terms of beneficiary base. When Akshaya Patra began its journey, the number of children who received hot and freshly cooked meals was only 1500. In 16 years, our beneficiary base has increased by 300 times.

2. Four ISO Kitchens: Akshaya Patra’s kitchens are an ideal example of quality. Centralised kitchens are automated and ensure 100% hygiene during the cooking process. All the six kitchens in Karnataka are centralised, with four of these having received ISO certification. All centralised kitchens have the capacity to cook up to 100,000 meals every day. The beneficiary schools are located around the unit to benefit from these kitchens.

3. Nourishing uncommon dreams: In 2016 a pilot initiative called ‘Giving Every Dream a Chance’ was launched. Through this programme, students will receive mentorship in the field of their career interests. For the pilot launch, three students from Bengaluru were selected as a part of this initiative and were mentored by renowned organisations which witnessed a huge success. Shekar, for instance, is a 14-year-old student who aspires to be a chef, was trained under Vivanta by Taj. You can view the inspiring videos here.

It is also The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mission to target 5 million children by 2020 and ensure that these children are able to concentrate better in classrooms. Although there has been a huge success, we believe it is still a long way to go before we can experience hunger-free India. You can join Akshaya Patra in raising awareness about the programme as well as contributing to the cause. All it takes is Rs. 750 to feed a school going child and you can help us too.

Read on to know more about our work, how you can get involved or donate to charity. Yes, there’s 100% tax exemption when you donate to Akshaya Patra.