Sponsor mid day meals to children in Uttar Pradesh by The Akshaya Patra Foundation

Program Update

Akshaya Patra reaches out to 1,762,133 children in 42 locations across 12 states of India, providing them with freshly cooked meal on all school days. Currently, we implement the mid-day meal programme in 15,024 schools of the country, with plans to increase that number to hundreds more. The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been chosen as the BBC World Service’s Global Food Champion 2019. Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Hon’ble Vice-Chairman of Akshaya Patra, received the award at a ceremony held in Bristol City Council, United Kingdom. The CEO of Akshaya Patra UK, Mr Bhawani Shekhawat also attended the award ceremony. This was the third edition of Global Food Champion, an annual award that honours people or causes that help societies and inspire lives. In 2018, a very talented chef and caring humanitarian, Mr Jose Andres – the man who helped provide 3.4 million meals to people in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria – won the award.

Story from the field

As a 15-year old boy, Aditya, studies in Village Panchayat Primary School at Ulas Khera, Lucknow. In a classroom where everyone sits on the floor, Aditya sits on a bench. While some might call it an oddity, the teachers explain that he is differently abled. The school authorities have considered it as an exceptional case and provides him a bench. When Aditya was three, he suffered a fall while playing in his house. The fall had affected his limbs, and as a result, he is not able to bend his knees, use his hands to hold or pick heavy things, or turn his neck. If the school authorities are compassionate enough to arrange a bench for him, his friends — Anuj, Vishesh, and Ravindra — are kind enough to help him with academics. With all his difficulties, his brilliance ploughs through and comes to the fore. The child is a prodigy. Budhi Kashyap, Aditya’s father, is a small-time farmer from Ulas Khera, Lucknow. He is a typical man of the soil in his early 50s, with greying hair and a stubble. His family comprises his wife, Kalavati; six sons, and four daughters — three of whom are married. Aditya is his ninth child. He admits that it is difficult to sustain such a large family. He likes the food that is served in the school. He likes kheer and dalchawal the most.”It is interesting to note that harnessing solar energy is not a part of his school syllabus. When asked from where he got the idea, “(from) my mind,” he quips, breaking into a mischievous smile. He then narrates a story of how, when on one of their visits to a temple, he saw solar panels being used to power streetlights. He not only understood the theory of the concept, but even applied it effectively. On enquiring if he will be able to power a bigger fan or light if he is provided a bigger solar panel; he is quick to explain that it is dangerous as there is a possibility of getting electrocuted. He is well aware of the hazards of electricity. He knows where to draw the line. “My mother thinks this is dangerous,” he smirks pointing at the battery and wires, “She thinks I’ll get stuck to these wires.” In his free time at home, Aditya watches cartoons on TV— his favourite cartoon being Motu Patlu. In the school, his best friends Anuj, Vishesh, and Ravindra, help him in studies and also play Ludo with him. Despite his interest in electronics, Aditya wants to teach computers to children. His interest in computers is surprising, considering that the school doesn’t have computers as a subject as of now. Akshaya Patra and ITI have tied up to provide a computer lab to the school. As of now, the children are only taught theory and yet, Aditya seems to have grown fond of it. For Aditya, the larger goal in life is to get well educated. “I like literate people,” he says, “I want to be like them.”

Program Update

The noble cause of The Akshaya Patra Foundation began with serving school lunches to about 1,500 children in 2000 to 5 government schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The organisation, known for its dedicated service, now aspires to reach out to 5 million children daily by 2020.

Starting the cause with just 1 van delivering food from a kitchen in Bengaluru across the schools, the Akshaya Patra Foundation now serves over 1.7 million children across 14,173 schools in 12 states across India.

The programme embraced the vision that - "No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger."

Today, through the partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, as well as philanthropic donors; the organization runs the world's largest mid-day meal programme. Built on a public-private partnership, Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver a nutritious and hygienic school lunch.

Story from the field

As she stood there looking at the bunch of medals that she won over the last four years, her eyes twinkled with a sense of achievement. A Std VI student from the Salempur-Pataura Primary School in Kakori, Lucknow, Archana has become an inspiration for children not just in her village, but also in neighboring villages.

Archana's tryst with track-and-field began when she was in Std III in Village Panchayat Primary School in Ramnagar, Lucknow. It was Abdul Rauf -- 'Rauf Sir' for her and the family -- who introduced her to the world of athletics.

In 2016, she participated in four events: long jump, and 100m, 200m, and 400m sprint, and bagged Gold in each of them.

Rauf Sir's contribution to her life has been inspiring and motivating for her. He is full of praises for Archana. "We identified her talent in Std III itself and decided to groom her at the young age," he said. All along, Rauf Sir and other teachers continued to support her; they built a sand pit for her to practice long jump; they helped her with the route, and even ensured that she doesn't miss out on academics because of her practice.

Talking about Akshaya Patra's meals served at school, Archana says, "When I am training, I need to eat a lot of nutritious food. So I am happy that we get it in our school." It is not surprising that she looks forward to Akshaya Patra's food every day. Her favorite is Dal Chawal. Archana wants to join the police force and serve the nation.

"If her father was there," she said, "he would have been very happy. In fact, he would have done much more to see Archana succeed."