Holi is a festival for all – children, adults, rich, not-so-rich and all. It is a day to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, the day we celebrate the eternal love of Radha and Krishna. It is celebrated to welcome spring and marks the beginning of spring harvest. The celebrations begin the previous night with a ritual called Holika Dahan where one prays to destroy the evil in them. The next morning is celebrated as Holi where people smear each other with colours.

However, it is not all joy and colours for all people. People and children coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds see their lives to be filled only with black and white. We can potentially add colours into their lives on this Holi 2021.

How can you brighten up their lives?
As the famous saying goes, ‘A little bit of kindness goes a long way.’
Shower your kindness on people this Holi, celebrate it by providing support. The best way to bring change in their lives is by donating to non-profit organisations that take care of their necessities and requirements. This Holi, join The Akshaya Patra Foundation to make a positive impact on the lives of people.

Celebrate this Holi by feeding children
Celebrate the goodness that resides in you by providing mid-day meals to children with Akshaya Patra. With your contribution of ₹1100, one child from a Government and Government-aided school will receive nutritious meals every single day of that academic year. The meals provided by this NGO takes care of the nutritional levels of school children coming from challenging backgrounds. By cyclically providing locally palatable meals, the organisation ensures that children enjoy their meals and the wastage is reduced.

Here are a few stories of children who love Akshaya Patra’s food

13-year-old Shyaali dreams of becoming a dentist. She works very hard in class and has become sharper after consuming Akshaya Patra’s meals. She says that she skips breakfast so that she can savour the mid-day meals that day. She adds further saying, “If I eat breakfast and leave home, I feel I am not doing justice to the food provided.” She is grateful for the meals that are served in her school every single day.

Raju is a 14-year-old boy from Silvassa Municipal School. Akshaya Patra’s meals have inspired him to become a Chef. He loves the fact that one single dish has many recipes to it so that the children don’t get bored of eating the same food and ultimately waste it.

By contributing to Akshaya Patra and supporting the Mid-Day Meal Programme, you help in mitigating classroom hunger, improving focus and attention span of children, reducing school dropout rates and increasing school attendance rate.

To make an online donation to feed mid-day meal beneficiaries, click here.

Celebrate this Holi by feeding homeless mothers
The non-profit organisation is feeding women who have lost their husbands. With the #FeedTheHomelessMothers Programme, it feeds a thousand women every day.
A moderately active woman should consume 1,800-2,200 calories a day.
But women who are surviving without their husbands, do not intake so many calories. To support such women, hot and nutritious meals are provided to help them survive and ward off diseases. Each meal is priced at ₹11.15 and is fed to a thousand of them living at ashrams and other centres.

Celebrate this festival of Holi by smearing colours on your friends and family, but don’t forget to provide meals to these people during your celebrations. Feed nutritious meals with Akshaya Patra and change lives every day!

Indian Republic Day is celebrated on 26th January every year to commemorate the day ‘Constitution of India’ came into force. India was declared as a Republic on this day in 1950 and is declared as a National Holiday. Educational institutions organise patriotic programmes to pay homage to martyrs of our freedom struggle.

School children in India celebrate this day with great pride. When institutions organise competitions like quiz, fancy dress, singing and dancing, children take part in them with enthusiasm. National songs, the National Anthem and many other patriotic songs are sung that precede the unfurling of National Flag. The words of the Indian constitution are inscribed deep in us by our teachers that ‘We, the people of India’ will stand together as a nation that is undivided by any caste, creed or religion. These ideals and morals make us responsible citizens and imbibe generosity to help the people who need us.

There are millions of people who need our support every day. These could include daily-wage workers, labourers, senior citizens, people from challenging economic backgrounds, marginalised families, etc.
Akshaya Patra and its service

To help these sections of the society, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in India works on a private partnership model to feed school children who are the future of the country. The Foundation provides healthy meals to 1.8 million children studying in Government and Government-aided schools of India. Spread across 52 locations of India, healthy meals are provided on a daily basis in 12 States and 2 Union Territories.

Here are a few stories of children who have enjoyed their mid-day meals

Kapil

An 11-year-old student of Government Primary School, New Baldev (Mathura), Kapil wants to become an Army Officer. Though he is born to a normal hardworking couple, he has never thought little of his dreams. He says he is aware of what he has to do once he finishes his studies. He is ready for the drill of hanging on ropes, climbing walls and doing push-ups holding rods.
To read about his story, click here.

Aishwarya

10-year old Aishwarya is a 4th standard student studying in M.P. Prathamika Patashala. She dreams of becoming a District Collector so that she can make India a corruption-free nation. The hardships that she and her family have faced, does not demotivate her or derail her from the path of achieving her dreams. Her dream motivates her to study hard every day so much that she has not missed even a single day of school.
To read about his story, click here.

Since many schools have shut down, children are forced to study at home. 1.8 million children were bereft of mid-day meals. Hence, the NGO started the Happiness Kits initiative to support their health, immunity, hygiene and learning.

Akshaya Patra also serves meals during the times of a disaster. For example, when Coronavirus instilled fear in the whole nation that went under a lockdown, the non-profit organisation started the COVID-19 Relief Service. As a part of this programme, hot and freshly cooked, nutritious meals are served to the people from low-income sections of the society.

Nurture and feed the people of India today; they are the section of the population that needs your support the most. Extend your generosity with Akshaya Patra.