When most of us are fast asleep in the wee hours of the morning, there are few places bustling with energy. Each day at the strike of 4 a.m., different groups of people at different locations prepped up with safety and hygiene gears enter into huge kitchen infrastructures. Why? To prepare ‘meals of hope’ for children studying in government schools! And, so we call them the ‘Humans of Akshaya Patra.’

Meet some of our passionate members from Kandi kitchen in Telangana for whom the only aim is to benefit more and more children with freshly cooked, nutritious, and hygienic meals on every school day.

Padamalalita, Pre-processing Helper (Production Department)

Since when have you been working in Akshaya Patra?
I have been working in Akshaya Patra since June 2013.

Why did you choose to join Akshaya Patra?
I knew the social cause of Akshaya Patra and chose to join the organisation with the aim to serve the children. It gives me a sense of self-satisfaction to be able to help school-going children by serving them with healthy food.

What was life like before you joined Akshaya Patra?
Prior to joining Akshaya Patra, I was a housewife.

Describe your typical day as a pre-processing helper.
As a Pre-processing Helper, I am responsible for ensuring that all the cutting equipment are properly cleaned and sanitised before and after use. I wash and cut vegetables and arrange all the ingredients required for the cooking or production process.

Why do you think thorough cleaning of raw materials is an important aspect of cooking meals?
As we provide meals to children, it is our duty to provide them with clean and hygienic food. And, hygiene begins right from the pre-processing stage. Hence, it is very important to ensure that all raw materials are cleaned properly before being cooked.

How has your experience been so far?
My experience of working with Akshaya Patra has been good so far. I feel proud that I am able to provide for my family. Also, now I am more confident about taking care of my children’s education.

What makes working with Akshaya Patra special?
The very name ‘Akshaya Patra’ makes it a special to work. Being a mother, I know the importance of food for growing children. I understand that many families are not able to provide proper food to their children due to many difficulties. But, by working in Akshaya Patra I am in some way able to provide food to so many children and this wouldn’t have been possible if I had worked somewhere else.

S. Sai Kumar, Driver

Since when have you been working in Akshaya Patra?
I have been working here since July 2013.

What was life like before you joined Akshaya Patra?
I was working as a delivery executive with a water distribution agency.

Describe your typical day as a driver.
Every morning I report to work by 5:30 a.m. After that, I conduct a routine check of my vehicle to ensure it is working well to avoid any kind of vehicle breakdown or delay in delivery of meals. The Supervisors assign duties to each of the drivers and we adhere to it. Once, I am back in the kitchen after delivering meals to schools, I wash and clean my vehicle.

Any specific problem you face while on your way to deliver meals.
Fortunately, until now I have never faced any problem while going to deliver meals.

Why is it important that food reaches children on time?
In my opinion, if children eat food on time, they will be able to concentrate better on their studies. Also, children learn by observing elders. So, if we are punctual in delivering meals to children, children will understand and inculcate the habit of being punctual too.

How has your life changed after joining Akshaya Patra?
I am happy with my duties and responsibilities in Akshaya Patra. As my working hours and working days are fixed there is no room for an any ad hoc summons and I don’t have to drive around unnecessarily. In addition, Sunday is a mandatory holiday, so I get time to spend with my family too.

What makes working with Akshaya Patra special?
Working with Akshaya Patra is special because at the end of the day I feel satisfied for being involved with a noble cause of helping children by providing nutritious meals and supporting their education.

Well, behind every great show, there are behind-the-scenes contributors. And, at Akshaya Patra, those contributors are our very own kitchen staff. Watch out this space to meet our passionate members from Jaipur, Rajasthan!

We would love to hear from you, so please use the below comment section to share your thoughts and feedbacks.

It is typical of me to ask children what they want to become when they grow up. So, when I threw open this question to a bunch of children, this is what they had to say:

You see, you just have to give children the opportunity to express, and they will overwhelm you with their responses. Probe a little more by asking ‘Why?’ and they will surprise you by telling the precise reason behind their aspiration. And, I bet it is the same with every child.

What next?

It is not enough to just know about their aspirations. As adults, we need to give an environment, an opportunity where children can live their childhood, explore their interests, learn and experiment, and hone their skills to achieve their goals. In one word, we have to ‘empower’ them. By definition, empower means to make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

Empowering children

Here, I would like to use the term ‘youth empowerment’. It is a process by which children and young people are supported and encouraged to take charge of their lives by making informed decisions for the benefit of the self and the society. Youth empowerment involves:

The benefits of youth empowerment are:

1. It allows children and young people to explore, discover and develop their skills and strengths
2. It makes youth responsible and self-reliant
3. It makes youth more aware of themselves and the world
4. It gives a sense of direction helping youth from getting lost or falling into the dark trap of crime.
5. It instils a sense of confidence and makes youth resourceful and reliable

Role of NGOs

Several NGOs have taken up youth empowerment as their core cause. These NGOs provide training, guidance, and job opportunities to youth depending upon their respective interests. But, there are other NGOs that indirectly influence youth empowerment, and The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one among them. Before I tell you more about it, it is important to understand that empowerment is a nutshell of developing health, positivity, self-control, communication skills, intellectual skills, decision-making skills, a moral outlook, life coping skills, and pro-social connectedness.

Being a mid-day meal NGO and serving school lunch to children, Akshaya Patra is empowering children by:

• Providing them with nutritious meals to support healthy growth
• Encouraging them to attend school and receive education
• Offering them a platform to hone their hidden talents as part of the Foundation’s ‘Giving Every Dream     A Chance’ initiative.
• And, most importantly by giving them the hope that their dreams are achievable

Here is quick clip showing Akshaya Patra’s role in empowering children:

He is just one among the 1.7 million beneficiaries whom Akshaya Patra is empowering each day.

What’s the conclusion?

It is important that children get the advantages of youth empowerment. It will not only develop them but also benefit the society as a whole. It becomes our responsibility to empower children so that they can achieve what they have dreamt of.

We would love to hear from you. So, feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions on youth empowerment in the below comment section. And, of course, do tell us how you would like to empower children.

And yes, the bunch of children at the beginning of this blog, they are all Akshaya Patra beneficiaries!