The unemployment rate in India shot up to 7.83% in April 2022 from 7.60% last month. Offering a helping hand to improve the situation may seem impossible with your busy schedule. But there is a solution!
Donate to NGOs and help India’s future gold-medalists right from where you are.
Did you know a huge chunk of poverty in India arises from acute malnutrition in growing children? Here’s how.
Absence from school
Due to financial troubles, underprivileged children skip school to earn for their families. After the pandemic, this risk has become more severe. According to UNICEF, the number of children being gripped by child labour can rise from 160 million to 169 million by the end of 2022 due to the pandemic. (Source)
Providing mid-day meals (MDM) at school is a proven solution to this challenge. Studies show that when free meals are provided to feed the needy children at schools, families approve of sending their children to school.
Akshaya Patra is a charity in India that works in Public-Private Partnership with the Central Government to serve mid-day meals to children from low-income backgrounds. We are the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch programme to children at Government and Government-aided schools.
Inability to focus
What decides a child’s future is their ability to focus and actively participate in multiple activities at school. An under-nourished child is unable to concentrate despite being present in the classes. This results in their underperformance in social activities such as discussions and physical activities like sports.
Therefore, feeding the children free meals once every day does not end the story. The children must be given the right nutrition in adequate quantities to nurture their complete cognitive and physical development.
Keeping this in mind, Akshaya Patra decided not just to fill stomachs but also to meet the specified requirement of nutrition declared by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in every meal.
Thus, each mid-day meal at Akshaya Patra is cooked from a planned cyclical menu that contains carbohydrates, proteins, and micronutrients like iron, folic acid, vitamins, minerals and so on in standard quantities.
Continuity of Poverty Cycle
Whether a child is absent from school due to responsibilities or lack of strength from undernourishment, it has a direct impact on their future. Due to a lack of knowledge, physical strength, and mental health from nutrient deficiencies, the child loses multiple opportunities to do well and break the cycle of poverty.
As a result, the child, who could have been the next economist or international athlete, ends up in menial jobs with below-average earnings.
When you give charity in India with Akshaya Patra, you support mid-day meals of 1.8 million children across 14 states and 2 union territories. Your contribution will not only feed the needy children but also fund our upcoming programmess to support other underserved sections of society.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, mid-day meals can be the ultimate weapon to push the future generation to achieve on their own terms. When you donate to Akshaya Patra, you become a part of the revolution without compromising your existing responsibilities.
Your one-time contribution can fund one child’s nutritious meals for an entire academic year. So, donate to NGOs that empower the future.
