“No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.”

With this thoughtful and pragmatic vision, The Akshaya Patra Foundation began its journey as an Indian NGO way back in 2000. It took its first step by providing freshly cooked nutritious meals to 1,500 children in five Government schools in Bengaluru. The Foundation recognised the interdependency of food and education much early and hence began to spread its reach to other locations of Karnataka and eventually to other states too. Akshaya Patra’s commitment towards providing unlimited food for education has been lauded nationally and internationally earning the recognition of being the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch programme.

An Indian NGO, Akshaya Patra has been successfully implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme for the past 19 years. During these years, it has supported education of millions of children in need by providing them with nutritious school meals regularly and has also initiated several children-specific programmes. This year, the Foundation celebrates its 19th year of service to children.

The Foundation implements the Mid-Day Meal Programme in partnership with the Government of India, various State Governments, corporate partners, and several philanthropic donors. Akshaya Patra’s 19th anniversary celebration is also a testimony to the success of a remarkable public-private partnership. Currently, Akshaya Patra is nourishing and nurturing children in 51 locations across 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India. Each school day, the Foundation provides freshly cooked, healthy, and locally palatable meals to 18,02,517 children studying in 16,856 Government and Government-aided schools.

During the 19 years, Akshaya Patra regularly conducted impact studies in association with third-party research agencies to assess the significance of mid-day meals and its effectiveness in implementing and meeting the objectives of the Mid-Day Meal Programme. The studies revealed palpable impact of the meals on health of children, school enrolment, regular attendance, and academic performance. Witnessing this positive impact, this Indian NGO stepped up to promote overall development of children by launching child-centric initiatives such as Anganwadi Programme, Breakfast Programme, Plate Distribution Programme, Scholarship Programme, Kashirampara Project, and Talent Development Programme.

Akshaya Patra is progressing responsibly with the aim to benefit 5 million children by 2025. On this 19th anniversary celebration, the Foundation welcomes your support to nourish and nurture children of India. Rest assured, your support today will get manifested as a healthy and promising India in the near future!

International Literacy Day is observed on 8 September every year. It presents a platform for various Governments, societies and stakeholders to advocate for and highlight improvements in literacy rates, internationally. It also reflects on the prevailing literacy challenges. UN’s Sustainable Development Goals also include the concern of literacy. Sustainable Development Goal 4 talks about ensuring that all young people achieve access to education and numeracy and those adults who lack these skills are given the opportunity to acquire them.

Theme of 2019: Literacy and Multilingualism

“Our world is rich and diverse with about 7,000 living languages. These languages are instruments for communication, engagement in lifelong learning, and participation in society and the world of work. They are also closely linked with distinctive identities, cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems. Embracing linguistic diversity in education and literacy development is therefore a key part of developing inclusive societies that respect “diversity” and “difference,” upholding human dignity.” – Audrey Azoulay, Director General, Message on the occasion of the International Literacy Day
Source: https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/literacyday

The focus of International Literacy Day 2019 revolves around ‘Literacy and Multilingualism.’ Regardless of progress made, literacy challenges continue, spread unevenly through different countries and its population. Considering linguistic diversity in education, literacy improvement is essential to address these literacy challenges.

By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, The Akshaya Patra Foundation (a Non-Profit Organization, headquartered in Bengaluru) works diligently to make sure that children receive their daily school meals thereby supporting their schooling and ambitions. By providing nutritious mid-day meals, Akshaya Patra addresses their need for nutrition and education. Irrespective of the cultural and linguistic diversity, by implementing this programme, Akshaya Patra has witnessed children achieving success by being young gymnasts, runners, police officers, doctors, professors, chefs, dancers and much more. Hence, we feel ‘food for education’ promotes the power of literacy. Join us.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

Sponsor a child
By sponsoring a child at Akshaya Patra (a charity in India) you help the child to get an access to education and healthy mid-day meals on all school days. On this International Literacy Day, we encourage you to support our cause and help us to increase our impact across India.

Volunteer
Register yourself as an online fundraising volunteer. Every amount raised will go to provide the much-needed mid-day meals to the schoolchildren. Donate online.

Share on Social Media
Be a social media ambassador for Akshaya Patra on various social media platforms. In this digitally connected era, all of us spend some time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. Why not dedicate some time for a noble cause?

• Tweet and re-tweet about Akshaya Patra for #InternationalLiteracyDay
• Follow us on Facebook
• Engage with us on Instagram