CISCO Employees at Akshaya Patra Kitchen
The Akshaya Patra Kitchen in Vasanthapura had a lot of new faces last week. It was on December 8th, that a group of Volunteers working for CISCO offered to take part in the mid-day meal program.
The mid-day meal program provides lunch to underprivileged children in Government and Government aided schools across the country. What started as a small project feeding 1500 children in Bangalore has taken mammoth shape today feeding more than 1.2 million children. And it does not stop with a day; it is an everyday affair directly impacting more than a million school children and in turns their families.
A simple building on a small hillock at Vasanthapura belies ten years of working towards a better India. The drive up the hill, paved with stones that make for a rough road, ends at a nondescript glass door. In the backdrop stands a formidable 270 ton silo, a silent testament to the work at hand, a clue to what lies inside the structure. On the 2nd floor of this building, a group of around 30 sit with concentrated focus to be a part of a project that has been a decade in the making.
Like many corporate who eagerly extend their helping hand to feed the Children, CISCO and Akshaya Patra joined hands once again together to take up this novel task. For more than 5 hours on a cool Wednesday, the CISCO employees took part in a few of the preparations that go into making those meals. On a daily basis, that includes everything from cutting between 5-6 tons of vegetables and cooking tons of rice and dal to grating nearly 2000 fresh coconuts.
Closely observing the activities taking place stands Chandrakanth Bhandarkar, in charge of hygiene on the floor. He explains how all vegetables are washed in 50 parts per million chlorine water and then thoroughly rinsed in plain water. Sectioning those vegetables into smaller pieces and chopping them in vegetable cutters are the volunteers from CISCO.
The complexities of the entire operations are divided into various departments, each one working in synchrony with the other to prepare meals on time: maintenance, quality, distribution, purchase, housekeeping, accounts and others. This harmony of activity is precisely what impressed the CISCO employees most.
"It was a wonderful experience," said Deepa, a CISCO employee as their volunteering came to an end.
The mid-day meal program, though a simple concept in itself, has brought about great change in India. It has been able to address many of the immediate and long term challenges faced by the nation.
More Details: http://www.akshayapatra.org/
Search Tags: Charity for underprivileged children, Bangalore ngo, donate to food, donate for food, charity for children, mid day meal, school meal programme, Charitable organization, charity donations, food for education, tax exempt donations, Charity for underprivileged children, Tax Exemption Charities, ngo in Bangalore.
Questions and Answers
Article Tags:
charity for underprivileged children
,bangalore ngo
,donate to food
,donate for food
,charity for children
,mid day meal
,school meal programme
,charitable organization
,charity donations
,food for education
,tax exempt donations
According to minister of State for Human Resources Development, Govt. of India D Purandeswari, over 13 crore children across the country are receiving benefits from the mid-day meal scheme.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation's Annual Report for 2008-09 has received the "Certificate of Merit" awarded by the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the year 2009 in the category of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
In 2000, The Akshaya Patra Foundation was founded to address the dual challenges of hunger and education in India. The organization provided nutrition-rich midday meals to extremely underprivileged children in India with the aim of increasing school enrollment, reducing drop-out rates, and improving academic performance.
Bringing a smile on a child's face might seem like a simple task, but making the smile last for a decade is definitely not an easy joke. The Akshaya Patra Foundation have successfully been doing it for the past ten years by feeding freshly cooked nutritious meal to over 1.2 million school children in India every day.
Imagine a new-born child, the latest addition to a family of 5, fresh with the hope of a new beginning. She announces her arrival into the world with her first breath, fiercely staking her claim to life, much to the joy of her parents. Her very birth is a miracle.
It is truly frightening that two million children in India die because of hunger and add to our hunger statistics every year. This implies that in India 6000 children dies every single day because of starvation.
Warriors turn to relief workers to rebuild a war torn country. There are insights learned that may lead us to World Peace. "A Prescription For Peace" is a great read as we remember those that have fallen to defend our great nation. Their blood will lead to a day where we all share in World Peace.
Worried at the grave condition of your child and tensed to bear the child's condition at the time of the treatment? Relax, it's time that you forget all your tensions and smile to see your child undergoing high end treatments without necessarily feeling the pain of it.
Many persons believe world poverty exists as a result of our ignoring its existence. It is enough to say that the well-established can fight starvation of other individuals without becoming impoverished themselves. Naturally, world poverty, as it presents, is an issue where persons are left to starve because of oppressive tactics and improper distribution of goods.
A lot of organizations and churches will have a food drive where they will give all of the food that is donated to the people who need it. Organization that retain over 80% of the donated fund for administration fees is less attractive than the one with less fees.
Contrary to recent media reports, Nigerian Prophet T.B. Joshua is being welcomed with open arms to Cameroon by the entirety of Cameroon's Pentecostal Christian Churches. Debunking the rumours which have been circulated around the internet of late, Dr Tsala Essomba said that the statement credited to former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Henri Ayissi accusing Joshua of diabolic practices does not reflect the belief of Cameroon's populace.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, through the medium of theatre, aimed to contribute to the child's development and connect with the child beyond the mid-day meal program. Thus was born a very innovative initiative titled "Theatre For A Cause." The initiative saw theatre being used to showcase to the world the latent gifts that children possess and how they can be harnessed.
Akshaya Patra's life skills inspire children and build confidence so they think big and aim high in life,raise their awareness and help them cope with more important issues of their lives ,provide a need-based learning program and improve the quality & performance levels of students in government & government aided schools.
Social India conference held in aid of Akshaya Patra Foundation was supported by Infinity group.
Akshaya Patra launched its centralized kitchen in Nathdwara. At present around 75,000 students will be served mid-day meals from this kitchen. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi inaugurated the 32,000 square feet technology intensive kitchen.
Sri Murari Gupta, a disciple of Sri Chandrashekhara Acharya, possessed extraordinary humility. He had an intimate lifelong relationship with Lord Chaitanya. Murari Gupta, a physician and close associate of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, recorded extensive notes on the first twenty-four years of His life.
Discuss this Article
