5 things that change when girls are educated

 

Hamsa was very cautious not to make any noise. She whispered to her mother while she boiled the rice for lunch, saying “Amma! Donga (Robber).” She wondered which robber would want to rob them since they don’t have anything expensive. A voice reminded her of what was taught in her school in Telangana, why should anyone rob in the first place? This small lesson changed her vision and mission of life.

A mid-day meal beneficiary, 14-year-old Hamsa from Telangana wants to be a Police Officer.

Oprah Winfrey said, “When you educate a girl, you begin to change the face of the nation.” And this saying has meaning to it because when you educate a woman, she becomes able and independent thereby raising self-reliant citizens. Provide food for education of a girl child, she will feed herself, her family, her community and the entire country. 

5 things that change when you educate a girl child

1.    Educated girls make informed decisions about marriage

Researchers from the International Centre for Research on Women and the World Bank found a strong relationship with educating a girl and her marriage. This means that when a girl receives constant education, she will make a conscious decision of when she wants to marry and that usually avoids child marriage.

The study also shows that educated girls tend to have lesser children and choose to bear children at a later stage of life. 

2.    Educated girls bring economic stability to their family

Generally, a working woman knows how to run her house and how much is needed to do so. When you educate a girl at a young age, she becomes aware of the importance of saving money. When she learns to save as a young woman, she learns how to allocate her budget and manage expenses for the long term. 

3.    Educated girls support the education of others

When you educate a girl child, she becomes aware of the benefits of education as she grows up into an adult. She in turn takes a stand to educate her children equally, irrespective of their gender. 

4.    Education improves a girl’s health and her family’s health

Education that involves basic education along with sexual education makes them aware of sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancies. Education helps them with critical thinking, decision-making skills, responsibilities and also reinforces gender equality. These children also seek healthcare for themselves and their families. 

5.    Education gives wings to a girl’s dreams

When a girl is educated, she becomes aware that her dreams can also come true. Education is the medium that catapults them to a brighter future. An educated girl becomes an empowered woman who has the capacity to steer her life, her community and the world too. 

Role of NGOs in empowering girls

There are thousands of non-profit organisations that work towards educating girl children and making their lives better. The role of NGOs includes a wide range of opportunities that help empower them with food and education. Some NGOs help girl children by:

Ø  Freely living their life with a sense of self-worth, respect and dignity.

Ø  Having equal rights to participate in religious, social and public activities,

Ø  Having equal social status in the society as men

Ø  Having equal rights for economic and social justice

Ø  Determining financial choices

Ø  Getting equal opportunity for education and employment without any gender bias

Ø  Getting a safe and comfortable working environment 

Akshaya Patra – an NGO in India that cares for girl children

TheAkshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India that is recognised for running the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme. By providing nutritious mid-day meals to support food for education for both boys and girls, it brings gender equality in the minds of young children. Locally palatable meals are served to them so that there is no wastage of food.

During the times of the pandemic and when schools remain closed in some states, the Foundation also provides Happiness Kits to them. Every girl child receives immunity boosters that support her health, hygiene essentials like sanitary pads and soap along with activity books that will keep them occupied and not lose touch with studies. 

Let’s support girl children as they also deserve to dream and achieve as they grow up from being educated girls to empowered women. 

Make an online donation to support an organisation to help them expand their operations to reach out to more girl children because an empowered girl means an empowered nation. 

If more information is needed on tax benefits of donating under section 80g of income tax act click here

Welcome New Year 2022 with Akshaya Patra

 Come, share your happiness in welcoming the new year 2022 and be a part of Akshaya Patra s noble venture to feed nutritious midday meal to school children. Akshaya Patra is an NGO in India which is striving hard to provide food for education

USHER CHILDREN INTO A YEAR OF GREAT HEALTH

 

Gift nutritious school meals to children all year round 

Akshaya Patra feeds meals to children in stainless steel plates

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO that has the distinction of being the world's largest NGO-run school lunch programme, serving freshly cooked, nutritious mid-day meals to over 1.8 million children in 19,039 schools of 13 states & 1 union territory of India.

To ensure safety and hygiene for the sake of children, Stainless Steel Grade 304 is used in the kitchens. Meals are served on steel plates so that children can comfortably enjoy their meals.

Make this world a better place to live through midday meals

 

Midday meals open the gates to schools and paves way for aspirations of lakhs of children across India.

Education is one of the most potential gamechanger in eliminating the vicious cycle of poverty-hunger-illiteracy. To support education of children belonging to socio-economically challenging backgrounds, Government of India has initiated several education schemes. Alongside, the introduction of Mid-Day Meal Scheme for government schools and government-aided schools was a huge boon for children. Midday meal acts as an incentive for parents to send their children to school with the hope that children will receive at least one full meal for the day. Once at school, children inevitably get introduced to academic lessons and other developmental activities. This not only contributes to the literacy factor, but also enables children to hone their talents as well as instils a sense of confidence in them to achieve their aspirations.

To maximise the benefits of Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in India partnered with the Central Government of India and various State Governments to implement the scheme. Akshaya Patra is one of the pioneer NGOs that stepped in as an implementing partner with the vision “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.” Headquartered in Bengaluru, Akshaya Patra has been providing freshly cooked, nutritious, and locally palatable meals to schoolchildren across India for the last 21 years.

 

Currently, Akshaya Patra feeds more than 18-lakh children,
on every school day across India.

By operating in a public-private partnership model, Akshaya Patra expanded its operations from one location in 2000 to 58 locations in 2021. The Foundation understands the significance of each plate of midday meal, hence takes utmost care in the preparation and delivery of these meals. It prepares the meals in its own state-of-the-art centralised kitchens and has its own delivery logistics to transport the meals to schools across 13 states and 1 Union Territory. To ensure highest quality meals, all the kitchens of Akshaya Patra follow industry standard operating processes with utmost adherence to cleanliness and hygiene practices. The kitchens follow a cyclic menu and prepare locally palatable meals in compliance with the dietary norms as stated by the Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

 

Midday meal significantly impacts lives of children by directly contributing to their nutrition levels, health, and learning capacity.

Impact studies on Mid-Day Meal Programme reveals that consumption of regular school meals results in:

-          increased school enrolment

-          regularised attendance

-          decreased drop-out rate

-          improved health of children

-          better academic performance

-          continuity of schooling

This is clearly visible in the varied aspirations and strong determination of Akshaya Patra beneficiaries.

·         Sachin, a Standard VI student of Hanspal Primary School in Odisha aspires to be a pilot. He says, “Flying high gives you a whole different perspective in life. I know that being a pilot is difficult, but it is not impossible.”

·         Shyaali, a Standard VIII student of Ekaathmanagar School, Nagpur aspires to be a dentist. She says, “I do not lose my head over daily activities at home and school. I am more focussed now. My mom would have been happy if I was like this, two years back. For her, I will become a dentist one day and open my own clinic.”

·         Rajesh, a student of Chandrabaghabai Education Society, dreams of becoming a rap artist. He says, “No work is a task, if you do it wholeheartedly. And my heart beats to rap music. I want to be a rap artist. I know it is not all that easy and I don’t have a Bollywood background. But I will work very hard with all my heart and get to the top on my own.”

Support this NGO in India to expand its service and benefit more children with nutritious school meals.

One meal a day can do wonders for children and help them achieve what their heart desires. Together, let’s make the world a better place by ensuring regular and nutritious school meals. Contribute online donation and instantly make schooldays of children better.

Akshaya Patra nourishes dreams of children

Childhood is a phase where we dream of becoming something big or being recognised; a doctor, engineer, lawyer, choreographer, singer, etc. Dreams will vary as we grow up and mature from childhood to adolescence. To achieve those dreams, as children we need to be focussed and that ability to focus in class comes from eating good food. A healthy meal helps us concentrate in class, stay focussed and helps by giving us the energy required to take part in classroom and co-curricular activities.

Realising the importance of meals and adequate nutrition for children, many schools have taken to providing school meals to children with additional school fees. However, there are some children who not only think schooling is expensive but think that rather than going to school, they can lend a helping hand with some extra income to the family.

The Government of India is working hard to help families realise the importance of education and schooling, which is a very challenging task. To help them reach out to a larger audience and the most remote locations, more than just one NGO in India come forward to extend their service.

 

Supporting dreams by implementing the Midday Meal Scheme

Midday meals are a great intervention to bring children to school. A simple meal becomes the reason why parents with low-income or people living below the poverty line, send their children to school. The major reason for sending their kids to school is so that they will be able to eat one proper meal a day at the least.

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an implementing partner of the midday meal scheme. This NGO in India has been providing meals to school children in government andgovernment-aided schools for the last 20 years. On every day of school, children receive freshly prepared school lunch prepared in the kitchens of Akshaya Patra. The menu and ingredients are carefully chosen to meet the nutritional requirement of every child.

 

Children who love their midday meals

Divyanjali, studies in a government school in Gujarat, Kalol. She lives with her father who paints houses for a living. She is very famous in her classroom for her painting skills. A young child like her idolised her father and dreamt of becoming a painter too. But exposure to an art museum changed her perspective. Today, she wants to become a well-known painter like Raja Ravi Varma.

She never wastes food and follows the values taught by her mother. Theplas are her favourite dish on the midday meal menu.

 

Sachin is a young boy from Odisha’s Hanspal Primary School. Before joining this school, he was a frail-looking child who had no energy to take part in co-curricular activities or sports. In the next three years of attending school regularly, today, he is a healthy and energetic child. He loves Akshaya Patra’s food so much that he says that it is better than what his mother cooks at home. Sachin and his mother are extremely grateful for Akshaya Patra as, without these meals, he wouldn’t survive.

 

Roshni from Odisha is a shy student who is very conscious about the way she looks; she has a white patch on her chin. The internet changed everything for her and today she is a confident girl who has accepted the flaw in her. She ensures that she eats the healthy meals provided to her at school as it is beneficial for her skin. She wants to become a Cosmetic surgeon so that she can treat more people like her.

 

So many children like them receive midday meals every day. These meals give them the hope of continuing their education so that they can achieve their dream one day. With the trust of millions of donors, they refer to Akshaya Patra as the best NGO in India to donate to. The stories of such beneficiaries speak a lot for the work that the Foundation does. You too can take care of some children with your donation. Your thoughtful contribution can feed children for a whole academic year.

What are you waiting for? Millions of children await to fulfil their dreams. Let’s support them. 

Akshaya Patra supports children’s education with midday meals

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India that implements the Mid-Day Meal Programme. For the last 21 years, this non-profit organisation is serving nutritious school meals to children in India. The cycle of clean, prepare, cook, pack and deliver repeats every single day, without a stop.

Want to donate to a charity? You might benefit from it

 

The concept of giving has existed since time immemorial. It is deeply engraved in our systems that we should help one another and especially those who need support. People from all walks of life have been giving charities, be it a king, a philosopher or even common man; everyone makes contributions in some way or the other.

 According to a report by McKinsey & Co, till the 19^th century, India practised religious giving that was motivated by the search for salvation. Slowly at the beginning of the 20^th century, philanthropy was directed towards social causes.

 This slowly brought in the culture of the establishment of NGOs and foundations that worked to alleviate the suffering of people. Gradually, the number of people who donate to NGOs started increasing. People who were blessed with everything in life either chose to make in-kind donations or extend monetary support.

Not only did individuals start giving, established companies and organisations also started making corporate donations to NGOs to ensure that their money is utilised most effectively. Organisations work towards various causes like women empowerment, child education, healthcare of elderly, etc. Based on these causes, huge corporates set up charity wings or have Corporate giving as a part of their monetary funds.

 Not everyone is equipped with resources to begin their foundation. This is why most of them donate to NGOs. To encourage people to come forward and help people in need, India’s laws allow certain contributions to be eligible for deduction under the Income Tax Act. Though many people contribute, they don’t realise that they have made tax deductible donations. Many people donate because it was taught to them by their parents or so that they can change the lives of people in need. But, they don’t look at the tax benefit side of it. People who donate towards philanthropy can have the satisfaction of contributing to the society and simultaneously claim the benefit of these tax deductible donations.

 Benefits of making donations to a charity

By giving to a non-government organisation, you get the following benefits:

·         Satisfaction of doing a good deed

·         Happiness of changing lives of people

·         Tax benefits of donating to a registered NGO, benefitting from 80G deductions.

 Satisfaction of performing a good deed

Like someone said, true happiness stems from the joy of helping someone in need or by sharing what we have. When you help someone and see their face brighten up with a smile, it makes you happy because you are the reason they are so happy.

 Happiness of changing lives of people

Every single person fights hard to survive in this world. When you give to an NGO working towards a particular cause that you connect with, you bring a positive impact on the beneficiary. For example, by providing mid-day meals to children, you ensure that they get the right nutrition for their development.

 Tax benefits when you donate to NGOs

Apart from gaining satisfaction from helping someone, when you donate to a non-profit organisation, you benefit with 80g deduction under theIncome Tax Act, 1961. A few organisations provide 50% tax exemption and a few offer 100% tax exemption.

 One major benefit from donating to non-profit organisations is that it becomes easy to evaluate and monitor contributions. You can be assured of one thing, that even though you have done tax deductible donations, your donations will reach the person in need at the right time.

 The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO that is registered under Section 12A (a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Every donation (above ₹500) is eligible for tax exemption under section 80G. The Foundation is recognised as the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme that serves freshly cooked nutritious mid-day meals to millions of children across the country.

 Every small contribution made towards the organisation can provide nutritious mid-day meals to school children studying in Government and Government-aided schools. These meals help them tackle classroom hunger while making them healthier and sharper at performing in their academics.