Challenges in Implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme

To retain a hungry child in the classroom is a major problem faced by the teachers and parents in government schools. A hungry student cannot learn or understand what is being taught in the class. Hunger causes impaired mental growth, physical growth and even reduces the attention and concentration of children.

Poverty and malnutrition among students, hailing from low income families have become a major concern in India.  As a result, the Mid-Day Meal Programme was launched to universalise primary education, increase enrolment rates, reduce dropout rates as well as improve the nutritional status of students in primary classes.

Akshaya Patra implements the mid-day meal programme in partnership with the Union Government and State Governments. The organisation reaches out to 1.5 million children a day and is the largest school lunch programme in the world.

Let us see some of the challenges Akshaya Patra has to face in implementing the mid-day meal scheme.

• Providing the right quantity of food to each and every student with the right amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals so that beneficiaries are not devoid of any essential nutrient.
• Reaching out to places where road connectivity is not smooth especially in rural areas. 
• Employing enough man power, so that meals can be prepared in vast quantities.   
• Having variety in the menu. Children would savour the meals only if different varieties of curry are served each day with rice and roti.

In spite of all the challenges, Akshaya Patra reaches out to its 1.5 million children with all efficiency and competency. Not even a single day the organisation has missed to deliver a meal as the organisation understands that this could be the only meal for many of its beneficiaries.

Hunger is really a challenge but to retain a hungry child in the classroom is more challenging. Hunger is an obstacle that hinders the child’s learning process.

Child hunger is a social issue that together we can solve. So let us donate to Akshaya Patra. It takes just Rs. 750 to feed a child for a year! Every donation of Rs. 500 or above made to Akshaya Patra is eligible for 100% tax exemption under section 35 AC or 50% tax exemption under Section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax.

Let us donate to Akshaya Patra and help serve children to end class room hunger.

Educate and Empower Girls for Better Society

It’s been many years since the empowerment of women became a global issue. But we still a long way to go before women truly have equal standing in society.

Empowerment of women should start from childhood, and education is the best way to achieve this.  An opportunity to attend school can instil confidence, improve intelligence and provide independence to girls.

However, the reality is, unlike boys, girls are not getting the opportunity to attend schools. 

The steps taken by Indian Government to make education a fundamental right for all children, has helped improve the situation and has also helped provide education for girls.  This was how programmes like National Program for Education of Girls at Elementary Level’ (NPEGEL), Mahila Samakhya Program’ and ‘‘Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme’ were introduced in India.

NGOs too have worked relentlessly to empower women in India. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a top NGO in India has always stood for the welfare of girls and women. The Mid-Day Meal Programme, run by the organisation has helped bring millions of girls back to school. Besides this, the organisation provides employment to hundreds of women across its 24 units, thereby giving them regular income and higher standing in society.

Like Akshaya Patra, each one of us can also make a change in lives of our girl children.  We can make a small contribution to send our daughters to school. With this small effort we can transform the lives of entire generations of women.

Let the change starts with me.