This Diwali, share the goodness of wholesome meals
and the light of education with 1.8 million children
across India.

Diwali, the festival of lights is one of the most awaited festivals in India. It is celebrated with much enthusiasm by people across all age groups and regions. While we engage in making this festive season joyful and memorable, let’s take a moment to spread the joy among children who needs our support. All we need to do is, gift them school meals! Celebrate Diwali 2019 with Akshaya Patra.

Diwali is one of the most-awaited festivals of India. People across the country and ages celebrate it with much enthusiasm and vigour. They decorate their homes and offices with diyas, flowers, and rangolis, offer prayers, distribute gifts and sweets to near and dear ones, organise get-togethers, and enjoy fireworks. This festival of lights brightens up our homes and hearts with love, joy, and warmth. Diwali celebration has its significance across various belief systems, but the symbolic cord that runs common across all of them is the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

Diwali 2019 – Let’s make it brighter!
Diwali comes just once a year and celebrating with and gifting our loved ones is an expression of our love, goodwill, respect, and gratefulness. While most of us have made our shopping and gifting lists ready, how about adding one more thing to make this year’s Diwali celebration better and brighter. Well, all you have to do is add ‘Gift a Meal’ to your list.

This Diwali, take a moment to gift children the goodness of nutrition and education. These children hail from challenging socio-economic backgrounds, yet their willpower and zeal to attend school and achieve their dreams defeats all the odds and hurdles. Your choice of contributing a donation on Diwali to The Akshaya Patra Foundation will make sure 1,802,517 children receive nutritious lunch on each school day. Akshaya Patra delivers freshly cooked, wholesome meals to 16,856 Government and Government-aided schools from its kitchens located in 51 locations of 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India.

When you ‘Gift a Meal’, you:
• Nourish children with the goodness of wholesome meals;
• Brighten up their lives with good health;
• Empower them with education; and
• Prepare them to be resourceful individuals in the near future.

How you can ‘Gift a Meal’
Let’s make Diwali 2019 a memorable one for ourselves and the children. Here are the many ways you can brighten up a child’s life with food and education:
• Add joy to a child’s life instantly by contributing Rs. 1,100 as donation on Diwali.
• Multiply the joy by conducting a fundraising campaign to benefit more children.
• Make your Diwali celebration bigger by sponsoring a school.

Share the joys of Diwali celebration with children for whom regular school meals are a ray of hope for a happier and prosperous future!

“A good teacher can inspire hope,
ignite the imagination,
and instil a love of learning.” – Brad Henry Love

As a token of respect, care, regards, affection, gratitude, and honour, Teacher’s Day is celebrated across India and world. We too believe that teachers are no less than an architect or a designer of our society as a whole. Teachers, gurus and mentors play a major role in shaping the young minds of the society. Akshaya Patra bows down to pay a heartfelt respect to those makers of the society, called – Teachers.

We bring you an example of a teacher who went against the wind in her life so that little school children can create their own success stories someday.

Age doesn’t matter with being an epitome of inspiration. Smt. G. Chandrakala, a teacher from Government Model Primary School, Jigani, Karnataka is one such example.

This middle-aged lady encourages her students in school to sharpen their skills, has elders in the village approaching her to solve issues, and has been navigating change in her own family too. But the actual course of change began with her— eighteen years back when she became a Teacher in a Government School.

Elders say, ‘Decisions Determine Destiny.’ These words proved to be true for Chandrakala Miss (as is lovingly referred to by students) and her family. Instead of keeping aside her certificates and cornering skills at an early age, she decided to pursue her studies further. Despite of economically challenged background, with her unparalleled will-power, she cracked through all the tests and finally joined the school.

“I knew I had to do well in academics and for that I was ready to sacrifice all the little happy moments of my growing up phase, extend my study hours leaving behind all the household chores including offering help to my mother. All these paid off when I see myself within the gates of the school every day, teaching children for their bright future,” says Chandrakala.

Chandrakala further mentions that most of the children coming to the school belong to an economically challenged background. They look forward to the support from Non-Government Organisation (NGO) like The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Being in the school, she has closely noticed the fact that mid-day meals tremendously enhance the enrolment rate of students. And the increasing number of students in the attendance register has been a testimony to this.

Share the most delightful moment with your favourite teacher in the comments section below. Relive your sweet childhood that still lasts in your memories and make you smile, even today!