6 reasons why you should donate to charity
Akshaya Patra is a recognised 22-year-old NGO in
India
empowering 2 million children daily with unlimited food & education.
Know more: https://www.akshayapatra.org/
November 2022
Akshaya Patra: NGO that bringing food and happiness to underprivileged children
One in three undernourished children in the world lives in India.
And millions of children in our country go to school hungry or do not attend school at all.
Reason?
- ·
Lack of enough resources at home that pushes
them to work or get married
- ·
Undernourishment that results in
o
lack of energy
o
inability to concentrate on scholastic and
non-scholastic activities
o reduced cognitive development
Malnourishment is not necessarily an outcome of a lack of food. Even those who eat three meals a day can be malnourished if they do not receive essential macro and micronutrients. Thus, children need well-researched programmes like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme or MDM (now known as the PM Poshan Abhiyaan).
Under the PM Poshan Abhiyaan, every school meal must contain essential nutrients in adequate quantities mandated by the Ministry of Education and the Government of India.
Malnourishment and Akshaya Patra
Our country is a fast-growing economy that relies on innovation and skilled human resource for development. But if our talented children do not receive food and education, they will not grow into competent individuals, thus slowing down the pace of growth of our country.
So, for a bright future with better opportunities for all our upcoming generations, we must strike malnourishment now!
And so, we did!
We, The Akshaya Patra Foundation are an NGO feeding school meals under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme or MDM (now known as the PM Poshan Abhiyaan) for 22 years. Nourishment for the education of underprivileged children has always been our prime focus.
We have come from feeding 1,500 children in five Government schools in Karnataka to 20,10,516 (2 million) children daily across 14 states and 2 union territories, with strong support from various Governments, consistent efforts and donations from our compassionate donors. We aim that no child in India should be deprived of education because of hunger and our mission is to nourish 3 million children daily by 2025.
Over the years, our NGO’s presence across the country has grown strong. Our mid-day meals (MDM) in schools are being loved at all our 65 locations as they are hygienic, locally palatable and adhere to the nutrition guidelines stated by the Ministry of Education.
In 2022, we also received the prestigious Mahatma Award for Social Good and Impact "Zero Hunger" and it would not have been possible without our donor family.
This year, our NGO also started serving breakfast along with mid-day meals and will be introducing millets to the menu in all our beneficiary schools very soon.
Now, it is your chance to give back to India by feeding its precious children. Here’s how your donations to our NGO make an impact.
He is a Class 12 student in the Science stream
and his favourite subject is Chemistry. “Chemistry is my favourite subject
because I get to use magic to create things every day. One day, I will make something
that can help change the world, and that's why I want to become an engineer,”
he says.
Vijayakumar likes to watch cricket in his free
time. He also learns typing, which he believes will help him in the long run
and enhance his focus. He expresses gratitude for the mid-day meals (MDM)
served at school and mentions pulav as his favourite dish.
Kavya enjoys dancing, singing and writing in
her free time and English is her favourite subject. She also likes Science and
General Knowledge. Her favourite mid-day meal (MDM) dishes are dal, rice
and sukhadi.
Support Akshaya Patra, the NGO for children
These young talents await your support to grow into skilled and responsible citizens of India and leaders of tomorrow. Join our donor family and experience the unending bliss of contributing to our country's future.
Donate
online to support Akshaya Patra today!
Empowering Children With Food And Education
Every expanding economy must consider nutrition.
According to UNICEF,
acute undernutrition in India causes wasting in 20% of children under the age
of five. India is home to more than one third of the world's wasted children.
43 percent of Indian children under the age of five are underweight, and 48
percent, or 61 million children, are stunted as a result of persistent
malnutrition.
In our nation, nutrition and education
have traditionally gone hand in hand. Lack of education frequently results in
ignorance of the value of nutrition and lack of understanding of balanced
meals. Children who live below the poverty line, where eating full meals is a
luxury, frequently choose not to pursue their education in order to obtain
employment that will allow them to buy food.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation runs the
Mid-Day Meal Scheme or MDM under the Government’s PM Poshan Abhiyaan, which
allows students to get free and nutritious lunch at school, in an effort to
attract more children to enrol in school and support them to continue their
education.
Giving Wings To Dreams Of
Children
Majority
of children, who attend the school that Geetha (name changed) is the head
teacher of in the Unkal district of Karnataka, only attend for the meals served
as a part of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. She adds that the meals served in school
also acts as one of the most significant incentives for parents to enrol their
wards to schools thus helping them to continue their education and follow their
dreams and aspirations. This also helps parents ensure that their child gets an
access to at least one wholesome meal every day.
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Akshaya Patra is cognizant of the
immediate and enduring effects of midday meals. As a result, this NGO feeds and
nourishes over 2 million Government school children across the country every
day, thus encouraging them to dream of a better and brighter tomorrow.
To support the nutrition and education of children in need, donate online!
Transforming India through Digital Education
Every year on November 11, National Education Day is observed to honour Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Minister of Education. He was a brilliant leader and thinker who made enormous contributions in the field of education.
We honour his achievements on this day and reaffirm our dedication to offering high-quality education to every child apart from feeding them. We also honour the numerous accomplishments of our students and teachers as well as the advancements made in India's educational system. The significance of education as a human right and a driver of social change is also recognised on this day.
Apart from feeding children through the PM Poshan Abhiyaan (previously known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme), Akshaya Patra has been a pioneer in promoting education among the underprivileged sections of the community. From creating opportunities for children to pursue quality education, the Foundation has continuously strived to eliminate classroom hunger and to provide the latest educational tools and techniques to children who have restricted access to opportunities.
Keeping up with the theme of National Education Day and in the quest to provide holistic development to children and support them to pursue their dreams, Akshaya Patra started its Digital Education Programme under the organisation’s Beyond The Meals initiative.
The initiative will provide students with access to digital devices and world-class digital learning platform with professionally curated content and equip teachers with tech-enabled teaching tools, to make teaching an interesting experience. It will also help aspiring medical and engineering students in their preparation for competitive exams such as NEET and JEE.
Let’s have a look at how the Digital
Education Programme has impacted the lives of a few beneficiaries of The
Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Celebrating 22 years of feeding the hungry
It's a huge accomplishment that 22 years have passed since The Akshaya Patra Foundation was established in March 2001. Reflection is especially beneficial around significant anniversaries like our 22nd. Here is a look at our accomplishments till date and our future goals.
In 2001,
following the Supreme Court’s mandate to provide free midday meals to all Government
school children, Akshaya Patra, an NGO working towards the education and
nutrition of children, extended its operations from serving hot meals to 1,500
children to 2 million children under the Midday Meal Scheme (now known as PM
Poshan Abhiyan), with the help of India’s Central and State Governments.
The NGO
now provides hot and nutritious school lunch in over 20,000 Government and
Government-aided schools across the country to combat classroom hunger. Akshaya
Patra runs on a Public-Private Partnership model that includes assistance from Local,
State and Federal Governments as well as charitable donations.
A Pandemic Crusader
With the
onset of the pandemic and the announcement of the nationwide loockdown to curb
the spread of the virus, the nutritional needs of most of the midday meal (MDM)
beneficiaries were affected to a great extent. But The Foundation quickly
switched from MDM to providing food and other forms of relief to people across
the country. Daily wage employees, labourers at building sites, workers in
industrial areas, migratory labourers and rough sleepers received meals and
food relief packs with basic goods.
An
Employee Speaks
Stories of Hope and Success
A doctor of tomorrow
Fulfilling
aspirations, achieving dreams
Footnote: We thank all our donors and well-wishers for their inconsistent
support over the last 22 years, towards our cause.
