The Akshaya Patra Foundation was recently certified as a Great Place to Work by Great Place to Work® Institute. Apart from employees, our interns play a major role in making the place what it is. They share their experience with us.

Q. Why did you choose this Organization?
A. Firstly, I chose it because The Akshaya Patra Foundation is known for its Supply Chain Management” and I was looking to specialise in the same. Secondly, because of the organisation’s dedicated effort to eradicate hunger among children.

Q. How’s your typical day like?
A. It usually starts with a meeting with my mentor Mr Vinay Kumar C where we discuss my assignments for the day. He tracks my work every day. I got to improve my skills and knowledge at TAPF. My day doesn’t end without having lunch at TAPF which is delicious and hygienic.

Q. What are the challenges you faced so far? How did you overcome them?
A. One of the major challenges was to draft a research paper related to my work. This was my first time. My mentor helped me with it.

Q. Any memorable moment you had at TAPF? What did you like most about interning here?
A. I enjoyed attending Toastmasters club. While I did not get a table topic, I feel if I was given an opportunity, I would have understood where I stand.

Q. Why do you think Akshaya Patra is a ‘Great Place to Work’?
A. Akshaya Patra sets a good example of employer-employee relationship by providing opportunity to excel at work. The office has a lively environment. We get homely food. All this makes it a ‘Great Place to Work’.

Q. Why did you choose this Organization?
A. I am pursuing MBA and I was interested in learning about Operations Management. TAPF is a place where activities like processing of raw materials, quality assurance and maintenance, supply chain process has a key role in providing nutritious school meal for over 1.6 million children across 12 states. This made me curious to learn more about the organisation.

Q. How’s your typical day like?
A. It starts with briefing from my guide/mentor Mr Vinay Kumar C on regular work. With the help of tracker, he monitors our activities and our research work on daily basis.

Q. What are the challenges you faced so far? How did you overcome them?
A. I found Toastmasters challenging. But then I realised that it will help me in my career. I am sure I will perform well next time.

Q. Any memorable moment you had at TAPF? What did you like most about interning here?
A. While I found Toastmasters difficult, I had fun attending it. It justifies the statement ‘Fun While You Learn’. I also like the work environment and the food here.

Q. Why do you think Akshaya Patra is a ‘Great Place to Work’?
A. Akshaya Patra is a ‘Great place to work’ because of its work environment, activities like Toastmasters club and the healthy relationship between employer and employee.

Can you imagine your life and successes without the education you received? Many children in India are robbed of the opportunities for advancement that a good education brings because they are pushed into labour for financial sustenance. On June 12, World Day Against Child Labour, an initiative of the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO), is observed around the world, to bring attention to the issue of child labour and the efforts and action needed to eliminate it.

According to the Census of India 2011 there are 43.53 lakh children between the age group of 5-14 years employed in various occupations. Although this figure has reduced drastically compared to the results of the Census of India 2001 which calculated 1.26 crore working children from the same age group, India still has a long way to go to become child-labour free.

Child labour is most prevalent in third world countries where poverty is rampant. Because parents lack the skills and opportunities to provide adequately for their families, children have to take up employment to help the household make ends meet. In an alternative form of child labour that is often ignored, children also frequently stay at home to look after their siblings and manage household chores, freeing their parents to work the whole day. This means that they have to drop out of school (or never enroll in the first place) to take their place as earning members of the family.

Watch Akshaya Patra’s inspiring video against child labour – The Possibilities – featuring the song Naan Yen, with music by none other than the maestro – AR Rahman

Child labour has consequences that are hard to imagine. Like a domino it has the power to tumble national progress, innovation, social security and many other factors if left unaddressed.

• Perpetuates the cycle of poverty – Because children don’t have the opportunity to study and attend classes they are denied the opportunity to hone their skills for the future. This keeps them in a position of economic disadvantage, and the cycle of poverty and child labour is passed on to future generations.
• Negative impact on the nation – Child labour has effects that reach far beyond the individual, family or community. It has a national impact that affects the growth and prosperity of the country as a whole. Child labour affects the country across different parameters:

1. 1. Forced to give up on their education in favour of employment, thousands of children grow up to be disadvantaged, unskilled members of the work force. This loss of income in turn lowers the country’s economic growth each year.
   2. Poor access to proper education causes the population to grow up unaware of their basic democratic rights and duties. Without the citizens playing an active role in their nation’s progress and governing policies, the country cannot flourish.
   3. Child labour forces children to work in hazardous and traumatic conditions with poor hygiene that affects their productivity in the future, negatively affecting the nation’s long term health.
   4. Due to the easy availability of inexpensive child labour, manufacturers are loathe to upgrade production processes and invest in fixed capital. This stunts the nation’s technological advancement and reduces efficiency of production to a large extent.
   5. Poor access to education due to child labour serves to also enhance the huge inequality of wages between skilled and unskilled labour. This chasm causes the rich to get richer, while the poor spiral deeper into poverty.

Child labour is a social evil that affects each of us on some level. One certain way of fighting against it – and winning – is to provide access to affordable education.

By serving the daily school lunch, Akshaya Patra helps combat child labour by providing food for education to children in need. This programme brings children out of the workshops and into the classroom by relieving them of the burden of working for their daily meal. Join us in doing this and more in our fight to end classroom hunger. Donate to Akshaya Patra today!