Nutrition for Children on Nutrition Week

Today India is a one of the fastest developing economy in the world. But for the progress, it is stained by malnutrition of millions of its people especially children. India is home to 400 million children, out of which every second child is malnourished due to lack of proper nutrition. Nutritious food is essential for children’s growth and health. Food nutrition and health are connected to the core.

Classroom hunger is a serious issue in India. Hunger keeps children away from school. They cannot concentrate or analyse information when their bellies are starved of food. The solution is to provide food for children in school and ensure that they get nutrition in schools. The mid-day meal programme of the Government of India, taken up by NGOs across the country aims to food nutrition and ensuring health. The Akshaya Patra Foundation in aegis with governments provides the free, tasty and nutritious mid-day meal at government, and government aided schools.

This food for children acts as an incentive for parents to send their children to school. It combats malnutrition in children and provides access to education too. By gaining regular access to sufficient nutrition in schools, the children have shown better concentration in class and academic progress; attendance have improved as well as school enrolment and school dropout rates have decreased.

The Akshaya Patra Kitchen maintains proper quality and food safety. At every stage of the operations process quality measures are implemented to make the Akshaya Patra food safe, nutritious and tasty.

With the determined efforts of the Government of India, corporates, donors and other well-wishers, India can one day achieve a hunger free society.

This Nutrition week provides all an opportunity to donate to charity and help the children. One can make adonation this week and ensure children to get proper nutrition. Donate to ngo, Akshaya Patra which is implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme in order to eliminate classroom hunger.

Let’s make a pledge to donate to help children get proper nutrition and education today!

Many Ways to Carry a Cause!

Being a responsible citizen means being aware of what the society needs and contributing towards its betterment. Several limitations hinder one’s willingness to take action. In order to tackle these and give you the opportunity to support by taking part as volunteers or participate in a volunteering exercise to help school children in India, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has made volunteering provisions that give you the freedom to spread our message without disturbing your schedule.

You can be an online ambassador of the organisation—If you have the passion and the spark within to help a cause, You can bring smiles on children’s faces without disturbing our daily duties. You just have to sign up as web advocate for Akshaya Patra. Then, you can forward our mailers to friends and associates and help in spreading the word further. You can follow our social media sites and request friends to do the same. Another way to boost the cause is introducing the organisation to online communities and fan clubs and more. You shall have access to banners, wallpapers and many creative to promote the foundation too. If you are active on twitter, you can retweet a tweet done by us. Join our Google plus circle, share our youtube videos, there many things you can get involved in to support.

Writing an article or blog about the foundation is another cool way to communicate to the public about the programme. You can send us the blog post or article and we can publish it on the official website. The more writers there are the more storytellers Akshaya Patra will get!

Online fundraising is another very effective way to support an NGO. You can register yourself as an online fund raiser. All the donations will go to providing mid-day meal to the school children.

Apart from everything else, you are free to be creative and suggest ideas and measures which we can implement to carry the cause of Akshaya Patra forward. All you need is some time and the willingness to make a change in children’s lives.

So, when shall we start?

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Looking into the beneficiaries of Akshaya Patra

An NGO in India is providing nutritious food for children every day. What is the impact of the endeavour? You have to meet a few children to decide for yourself. The Akshaya Patra Foundation currently feeds millions of children in its effort to eliminate classroom hunger. It also tries to make a direct connection with the beneficiary children— look into their lives, know more about them and see if the programme of delivering school meals every day is helping them or not.

Let’s meet Yashoda, a 12-year-old girl with an aspiration to become a teacher. She is bright student and one of the toppers in her batch. She had recently lost her father. Yashoda’s mother, a home maker till the demise of her husband, has started working at a garment industry to support the family. Yashoda says, “My father’s wish was that I become a lecturer at a college and educate students. He inspired me and I want to do my best.” She is determined to become a teacher. Yashoda also wants to help society. She wants to educate the less fortunate too when she becomes a teacher. Akshaya Patra serves nutritious mid-day meal at her school every day and she loves pulao. She is also aware that the vegetables served by Akshaya Patra are good for health.

Know more about Yashoda @ Akshaya Patra Beneficiary

Now let’s say cheers to Venu who never misses school on Thursday because of Aloo (Potato) Biryani (mixed rice dish) served by Akshaya Patra on that day every week. Normally Venu likes the food provided by Akshaya Patra every day but, Biryani is his favourite. Venu is a fifth standard student who likes English and wants to be an engineer. He is a bright, hardworking boy whose younger brother and elder sister are also studying at the same school. This means all the siblings are beneficiaries of the Mid-Day Meal Programme.

Know more about Venu @ Stories of Children

Before making a closing note it better to meet another child. Here is Soujanya, an eighth standard class topper, who loves maths and aspires to become a maths teacher. Her amity with numbers started at an early age when she realised she is good with it. She wants to be perfect with the subject. About Akshaya Patra, she says, “I’m lucky to have the meals. It is nutritious and tasty. It helps me concentrate in class.” She is particularly fond of the fruits and loves the biryani served every Thursday.

Know more about Soujanya @ Akshaya Patra Success stories of Children

Think about stories of millions of children like Yashoda, Venu and Soujanya. Many of these children generally belong to economically challenged family backgrounds. A nutritious meal at school every day is a relief to the families too, knowing that their children are well fed in school. Children need good nutrition at this time in their lives for proper growth and cognitive development. It’s a crucial time which is never coming back. If we have to do something, we have to do it now!

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What drives people to connect and contribute to a NGO?

What is the NGO all about? What does it do? Is it making a difference? How is it using funds in what it does? Why is it doing, what it does? Can it be trusted? These are a few of the palpable questions in one’s mind before making decision to act upon supporting a NGO.

 As Akshaya Patra, as a world renowned NGO, what is the impact we are generating to make people act and help it make a change? What is our identity? It says we run the world largest NGO-run mid-day meal programme. The answer itself gives birth to many more questions which need to be answered. Are we building a personal connect with the people? When we say we are feeding millions of children in an effort to eliminate classroom hunger. When we say we nourish minds and nurture dreams. When we say we provide unlimited food for education. Are those enough to paint a real picture?

Questions need to be answered at the right time with the right information so the organisation stands out amongst other. Many people support because they connect with the work Akshaya Patra does. Helping children every day with nutritious food, yes! It builds that connection with many people. But there are others who look in for more before they decide to lend a hand. Some try to find out what’s in for them. One may say,

“Yes! I am making a difference in children’s lives for the better is good enough for me.”

Or the fact that one get 100% tax exemption when one makes a donation above rs.500 make a positive impact to react. Or issues The Akshaya Patra Foundation is constantly trying to mitigate make one extend a helping hand. Some people asked about how the funds are spent, and Akshaya Patra has proper and unadulterated answers which make people get a clear picture. That does make a good impression. Akshaya Patra is the only NGO to be inducted in the ICAI Hall of Fame for winning the Gold Shield Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting five years in a row. That shows the commitment the organisation has on being transparent.

Akshaya Patra as an NGO in India needs to answer any and every questions related to its work and cause because that is what will drive people to connect and contribute to the organisation.

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A way to help Akshaya Patra―Fundraise!

The Akshaya Patra Foundation being an NGO implementing the world’s largest mid-day meal programme is in constant need of support and contribution to sustain and expand its programme. Though the vision and mission of Akshaya Patra are imbibed into each individuals working with and for the cause of eliminating classroom hunger from India; the magnitude of the operation demands a huge resource and constant challenges creep up along the road to progress. Akshaya Patra looks up to several supporters, donors and well-wishers to help in running and expanding the programme.

One significant option is fundraising with and for Akshaya Patra. It’s a fulfilling action for individuals who wish to do something and change the lives of children for the better. The organisation is always ready to support anyone who wants to fundraise at home, at school or at work or who wants to organise an event or a collection.

Akshaya Patra offers many fundraise with us options and the opportunity to come up with unique ideas for fundraising. Several kinds of communication materials and collaterals are readily available to enable the process. Round the clock assistance is just a mail or a call away.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation believes that fundraising is a really effective way to help contribute towards the mid-day meal programme. It raises awareness about Food for Education, and provides support and information to anyone is looking for it. Each event meets many purposes apart from just raising funds. It also gives one the opportunity to become a role model.

Such fundraising events normally cause a ripple effect, which Akshaya Patra needs to fulfil its mission and in the near future.

Classroom hunger is a problem that affects the entire nation. One third of the world’s undernourished children are from India. Without proper food and education, children can never grow up to be better people.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation needs ardent support and contribution from people who understand that without smart and healthy children there is no better future. And what needs to be done to ensure that the future is bright has been done now.

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