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.

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.

Solving India’s Hunger Problem – Why and How?

‘World hunger’ refers to the want or scarcity of food in a country. As the economies progress and development goes forward, the evil of hunger becomes a bigger challenge with growing populations. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) estimates that about 795 million people of the 7.5 billion people in the world were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2014-2016. That’s one in nine people. And almost all the hungry people, i.e., 780 million people live in developing countries including India. 

Hunger has taken its largest toll in Southern Asia including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Imagine the statistics on the children demographic. Globally, 161 million under-five-year olds were estimated to be stunted in 2013. Thus solving the problem of hunger is not a choice anymore. The reasons are plenty but the most prominent of them all is it’s slowly destroying our future – the children.

How can the hunger problem be solved? Of course there are top NGOs working towards reducing under nourishment among children. A lot of charity fundraising happens on a large scale in India where people generously donate for the cause. However, the real effort is in the detailing.

School to school 

Akshaya Patra, an NGO based out of Bangalore, identified the place where undernourished children can be found easily. There are several government schools around India that struggle to get children to school. The most common reason for kids skipping school is economic condition. While both parents need to work to fend for their families, older children are kept in charge of younger siblings. When Akshaya Patra decided to incentivise education by providing mid-day meals in schools, the idea caught up quickly. One of the best ways to solve the problem is to reach out to undernourished children and ensure both nutrition and education. The organisation encourages tax deductible donations apart from working in active partnership with the government. 

Meal to meal 

Another significant detail in the fight against hunger is ensuring that nutritious meals are served to children. Akshaya Patra CEO Shridhar Venkat, addressing at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger challenge (Bangkok), identified a crucial aspect of nutrition. He said that millets were not only more nutritious than cereals, they were naturally rich in fibre, minerals and iron. He outlined the inclusion of this particular cereal in ancient Indian meals. The meals at Akshaya Patra are replete with nutrients. Our cooks ensure that the meals are not boring and are varied enough for the children to enjoy while the meals are customised as per the region such as South India or Western India. This NGO in India is able to execute this plan through charity fundraising or tax deductible donations from generous people all over the world. 

Awareness 

Through Aanganwadi meals given to mothers and toddlers, the organisation also engages in making women aware of healthy nutrition for children. This sensitises mothers towards ensuring that they feed their children a healthy meal every day. When they cannot provide for these meals, Akshaya Patra engages in facilitating the same. 

The fight to hunger needs to be carried out with a concrete plan. It’s vital that these plans are localised based on country and regions in order to be effective. You can play your part by donating from wherever you are.