Fani, one of the strongest and rarest cyclones in the Bay of Bengal hit eastern India on 3 May 2019 affecting Odisha the most. Heed to early warnings, effective disaster management strategy, and quick response indeed curbed the extent of damage. An estimated 1.2 million people were evacuated from the coastal areas in Odisha keeping loss of life and number of affected people to a minimum. Yet, the high velocity winds of 175 kmph coupled with heavy rainfall left the region in a state of destruction damaging infrastructure, power supply lines and uprooting innumerable trees. The aftermath of the merciless cyclone Fani was witnessed in Akshaya Patra’s Puri kitchen too.

Relief work by Akshaya Patra
It’s time now to recover from the damage caused by the cyclone. Akshaya Patra has stepped in the relief work by providing cooked meals to cyclone-affected people of Odisha. The Foundation is providing these meals from its kitchen in Bhubaneswar.

Location of relief work: Brahmagiri, Satar, Kanas, Satyabadi, Puri and other 130 locations.
Start date of relief work: 15 May 2019
Total Meals Served: 56,250 meals 
Meal menu: Rice, dal, and khatta (a tomato-based chutney).

Know more: https://www.akshayapatra.org/photo-gallery/akshaya-patras-relief-operations-in-cyclone-hit-odisha

Rebuilding Puri kitchen
Cyclone Fani has caused huge infrastructural damage to Akshaya Patra’s Puri kitchen. This centralised kitchen serves nutritious school meals every day to 46,904 children studying in 598 Government schools. Hence, the Foundation looks forward to making the Puri kitchen operational at the earliest so that it can restart providing the much-needed school meals to children.

Akshaya Patra’s Past Disaster Relief Activities
The core cause of Akshaya Patra is to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. However, Akshaya Patra is always actively involved in disaster relief services by providing food to affected people. Here is a quick overview of Akshaya Patra’s past relief activities:

Kerala Flood Relief
Activity Period: 13 August 2018 to 30 September 2018
Total Meals Served: More than 1 lakh

Chennai Flood Relief
Activity Period: 8 December 2015 to 25 December 2015
Total Rice-based Meals Served: 2,12,000

Gorakhpur Flood Relief
Activity Period: 25 August 2017 to 8 September 2017
Total Rice-based Meals Served: 84,200
Total Theplas Served: 1,92,000

Nepal Earthquake Relief
Akshaya Patra airlifted 1,00,000 meals to earthquake hit Nepal in April 2015. It also established a centralized kitchen in June 2015 to support the affected people of the region. The Earthquake Relief Centralised Kitchen Project was a joint initiative undertaken by Akshaya Patra, Jamsetji Tata Trust, and Sipradian Sahayata Sanstha. The kitchen served 1.4 million meals to the affected people for 88 days.

Gujarat Flood Relief
Activity Period: 25 July 2017 to 30 July 2017
Total Theplas Served: 4,00,000
Areas Covered: Banaskantha District (North Gujarat), Kalol, and Ahmedabad regions.

Support Akshaya Patra
Join in the relief operations by donating to Akshaya Patra. Your donation will be extremely helpful in providing food to cyclone-affected people in Odisha and in rebuilding the kitchen in Puri.

Republic Day is a moment of pride as the entire nation comes together to celebrate the power of complete democracy. It also signifies the essence of equality without any discrimination. Akshaya Patra, a mid-day meal NGO also promotes equality by ensuring each child receives nutritious meals and rightful education.

The Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 and to commemorate this historic event, each year 26th January is celebrated as Republic Day in India. This made India an independent republic with a democratic government system i.e. the citizens of the country have the right and power to elect their representative rather than being ruled by a monarch. Indeed significant, but this also comes with the responsibility of empowering citizens to be good decision makers.

The Preamble of the Constitution of India clearly upholds ‘EQUALITY of status and of opportunity’ for each and every citizen of the country. And, this is true for access to food and education too. Access to food and education are fundamental rights of every citizen and is extremely essential for proper growth and development of children. The Government along with many NGOs are already working towards ensuring access to these basic needs and The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one among them. An NGO in India, Akshaya Patra supports education of children by providing them with nutritious school lunch on each school day. This meal has been instrumental in bringing children to school and helping them continue their education. Wholesome meals, regular lessons, and exposure to sports and co-curricular activities promote holistic development among children, who in the near future will be the decision makers of the country.

India is a land of thriving talents and skills – an element that is vital in continuous progress of the country; all we need to do is, provide a platform for these talents and skills to develop. And, schooling is the first step! Agreed, it is a humongous task to bring each child under the ambit of health and education, but it is possible to reach the last child if we all work unitedly towards it. This Republic Day, pledge to feed a child and partake in the progress of the country. By contributing online donation, you can instantly transform young lives in the most desirable way. By pledging to support children, you will also uphold the element of equal opportunity to nutrition and education for children.

Only empowered children can contribute in the progress of the country. So, on this proud moment of celebrating 70th Republic Day, let’s pledge to progress together by providing adequate support to children of the nation. Your one step towards creating a change will manifest in the most desirable way in the near future.
We would love to hear from you, so please use the below comment section to share your thoughts and feedbacks.