Taking Care Of Pregnant Women With Shakti Kits

 

Summary: Aside from providing nutritious meals to school children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has also undertaken the initiative to nourish pregnant women. They provide essential nutrient-rich food items and masks for protection against COVID-19.

Body of content: Pregnancy is a beautiful and sensitive phase in a woman’s life. It requires personal attention and care, timely check-up with doctor, and adequate nutrition to ensure a healthy pregnancy. While a section of the society is privileged to meet these needs, there is another section that struggles for the same. This section of women is deprived of even something as basic as nutritious food that is critical during this phase. There are many NGOs who are addressing the needs of women belonging to the socio-economically weaker sections of the society. While fulfilling the role of NGO in the mid-day meal sector, The Akshaya Patra Foundation extended its service to benefit pregnant women too.

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme since 2000. During the past 21 years, it has been constantly expanding its reach to benefit more and more school children. From providing school meals in just Bangalore in 2000, it now nourishes children across 60 locations in 14 States and 2 Union Territories. The Foundation has a beneficiary base of 18,00,907 children studying in 19,039 government schools and government-aided schools.

How is Akshaya Patra helping pregnant women?

Alongside fulfilling the role of NGO in nourishing school children, Akshaya Patra has undertaken Anganwadi Feeding Programme too. Through this programme, the Foundation aims to provide adequate and right nutrition during the foundation years of growth and development. It has been nourishing 1,35,612 young children aged 3 to 6 years in 5,928 Anganwadi Centres in 10 locations of four states namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The Foundation is providing nutritious food to 3,660 pregnant women and lactating mothers in 323 Anganwadi Centres in Jaipur.

What is Shakti Kit?

This programme is an initiative of The Akshaya Patra Foundation that is focussed to provide nutritional support topregnant women hailing from socio-economically weaker sections. As an initial step, in order to improve nutritional status of pregnant women, Akshaya Patra has partnered with Government of Karnataka. Under this partnership, Akshaya Patra is currently providing Shakti Kits to 50,000 pregnant women in the state. Each Shakti Kit contains:

·         Malt-based protein mix

·         Protein porridge mix

·         Dhatri Loha (Ayurvedic immunity builder)

·         Pulses, peanuts, and green moong

·         Turmeric powder

·         Double fortified salt

·         10 masks

Consumption of healthy, nutritious food is vital during pregnancy. It not only impacts the woman, but also the development of the child. Nutritious food also contributes to immunity which is much-needed to protect against diseases and any potential health risks. It is observed that consumption of balanced and nutrient-rich meals lowers the risk of congenital diseases and nutrition deficiencies in the new born babies. Each Shakti Kit is thus packed with food items rich in essential nutrients, so that expecting mothers have a healthy pregnancy and welcome a healthy baby.

Your support is needed

As an NGO in India, The Akshaya Patra Foundation is doing their bit to provide a foundation for a healthy generation through mid-day meals, Anganwadi feeding, and nutrition kit for expecting mothers. However, to continue these services, it requires your support. You can instantly be a part of their mission by contributing an online donation. You can also multiply your impact by conducting a fundraising campaign to support Akshaya Patra.

The best part is, while your contribution impacts and transforms lives of beneficiaries, it also rewards you with tax exemption. Every time you donate ₹500 or above, you become eligible to receive tax exemption under Section 80G of the Indian Income TaxAct. So, go ahead, do good, receive goodwill and tax exemption, and create a better world!  

Author Profile:

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an Indian NGO implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme along with other relief feeding initiatives. Your support to Akshaya Patra can directly impacts lakhs of children as well as needy people amid crisis situations across India. Your donation towards Akshaya Patra will avail you tax exemption too.

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