Krishnaveni is a student at Chennai High School and a surrogate mother to her siblings since the passing of their mother when she was in Class 5. Since then she has cooked for and taken care of her father, little sister and brother – all while going to school and helping out the family financially.

Her day begins at 5 am each morning with tasks to get her siblings ready for school. After her classes, Krishnaveni helps her father with chores to earn a small income and help contribute to her family’s finances.

Young Krishnaveni has learnt the skill of managing expenses and setting priorities, “My brother always wants toys and my sister asks for bangles. I am always happy to buy it for them, but only when basic needs like food and school necessities are available.” She credits her maturity to education and schooling. Unsurprisingly, Krishnaveni wants to become a teacher; she wishes to share her love of Tamil to children deprived of education.

Of all her daily tasks on school days, cooking is excluded thanks to the breakfast and mid-day meal service in school, “It eases my work at home. Here (in school) we get healthy food. I love the Rava Pongal.”

On #InternationalEducationDay and #NationalGirlChildDay, Akshaya Patra celebrates the spirit of the girl child by emphasizing the important role education plays in a girl’s life and the ripple effect it can have on their families, societies and communities.

Wish you all a Happy 65th Kannada Rajyotsava!

1st November is Kannada Rajyotsava. It is the day the state of Karnataka was formed. On this very day in 1956, all Kannada-speaking regions of South India unified to form Karnataka. Karnataka is derived from the words Karu-Nadu meaning elevated land.

Karnataka Rajyotsava is the day where people living in Karnataka – ‘Kannadigas’, unite to celebrate with great pomp and grandeur, irrespective of their religion. Red and yellow Karnataka flag is hoisted at predominant locations, followed by the singing of the state song. People who have made great contributions towards the development of Karnataka are presented with Rajyotsava awards.

Birth of Akshaya Patra in Bengaluru
Akshaya Patra is an organisation that was born as an NGO in Bengaluru. The Foundation started feeding 1,500 school children with nutritious meals in Government schools of Bengaluru, Karnataka. Since its inception in 2000, it has fed 1.8 million children with wholesome mid-day meals every day. In these times of unprecedented crisis, the NGO is serving meals to the needy and marginalised sections of the society.

As a part of its COVID-19 Relief Service, cooked meals and grocery kits are distributed to people belonging to low-income communities. As of 14th October 2020, a cumulative of 9.2-crore meals were served.

Watch Akshaya Patra Children Stories:

There are various other ways in which you can celebrate the spirit of being a Kannadiga – by serving your needy fellow beings with Akshaya Patra.

• Cooked meals
Serve freshly cooked, nutritious meals to low-income sections of the society, comprising of daily-wage workers, labourers and people in need living in old age homes and night shelters.

• Grocery Kits
Each grocery kit comes with spices, pulses, legumes, vegetables and other essentials. Donate online towards providing grocery kits to help marginalised families sustain amid the crisis.

• Happiness Kits
To continue its service towards mid-day meal beneficiaries, Akshaya Patra initiated the Happiness Kits Programme. Each happiness kit supports nutrition, immunity, hygiene and education of school children studying in Government and Government-aided schools.

• Anganwadi Kits
To provide support to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, essential kits are being distributed. Glucose biscuits, jaggery, milk powder, Horlicks, etc. are packed in the kit for Anganwadi beneficiaries.

With social distancing and new norms in place, this year’s Kannada Rajotsava is a tad bit different. But nothing can dampen our spirits to help our fellow citizens in the hour of this crisis. Extend your support and let us know how you have changed lives on this Rajyotsava.