A gesture of compassion can feed millions of hungry around the world |
Posted: October 26, 2018 |
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” – Mother Teresa Amidst the humdrum of economic development, technology advancement, and the race to reach the top of the ladder, what gets neglected is the section of fellowmen who sleep and wake up to the crisis of food, each day. Yes, 815 million people i.e. 1 in 9 people across the globe suffer from chronic hunger; and of this, 190.7 million reside in India! The situation of hunger in India has been categorised under the ‘serious’ range following its 100th rank among 119 countries in Global Hunger Index 2017. In addition, hunger has been rated as the number one cause of death in the world. Several organisations across the globe along with NGOs are aggressively working towards eliminating hunger in a sustainable manner. Among the many NGOs is The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO working to feed the hungry children by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme across India. This Indian NGO steers its efforts to eliminate classroom hunger and support education with the aim to break the vicious cycle of poverty-hunger-illiteracy cycle. Akshaya Patra has been providing freshly cooked, nutritious meals to children of government and government-aided schools since the year 2000. It is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka and is currently operational in 39 locations of 12 states. The Foundation believes that hunger can be eliminated provided there is a concerted effort between Government, NGOs, and the civil society. And, for this it has created a wide platform for people to get involved with its cause. Akshaya Patra is cognisant of the fact that every little help goes a long way in making a difference in the lives of young children and the society at large; hence it has provided various options for supporters to constructively contribute to the cause of eliminating hunger. One can choose to contribute online donation, conduct volunteering activities, create fundraising campaigns, promote Akshaya Patra in their social media network, sign up for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) partnerships, and many more. However, one chooses to support the Mid-Day Meal Programme, it will ultimately benefit millions of children across the country who have the urge to learn and achieve but lacks the necessary resources especially funds. Over the 18 years of implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme, Akshaya Patra has been able to positive alter the lives of more than 17.6-lakh children studying in 14,314 schools. Impact studies conducted on the effectiveness of mid-day meal indicates that, this meal has:
Considering the positive outcomes, it is evident that the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is a potential intervention to end hunger in India from the grass root level in a sustainable manner. Step up and join the efforts of Akshaya Patra. Your gesture of compassion and generosity can gift a whole new world to millions of children. And, as rightly said by Buzz Aldrin, “If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.” Author Profile: The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a mid-day meal NGO in India serving more than 1.76 million children across 12 states of India. The NGO aims to feed 5 million children by 2020. Your support and trust on the Foundation will enable it to provide ‘unlimited food for education to many more children.
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