The overarching theme of Dussehra (or Vijaya Dashami as it is also known) is that of victory. According to legend it is celebrated as the victory of good over evil.

Dussehra is still an occasion where one must fight against evil, though the form it takes has changed over time. Today one of the evils we stand as a society to combat is the social ill of child hunger.

In a country which is home to a quarter of all undernourished people worldwide, where nearly 39 per cent of children under the age of five are stunted and 15 per cent in the same age group suffer from wasting, it is crucial that we as a community come together to protect our children.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation works every day to provide a safe, healthy, fulfilling childhood to the youngsters in India. By following its vision that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’, Akshaya Patra provides the wholesome mid-day meals to over 1.4 million children every day.

This Dussehra help us achieve victory over classroom hunger by supporting our programme. A contribution from you will mean more children getting healthy every day.

In the final part of this interview series, R Madan Chief Projects Officer of The Akshaya Patra Foundation summarises his experience at the Earthquake Relief Centralised Kitchen in Nepal, and contemplates the future. Read the previous section of the interview here.

Tell us about the collaboration between Tata Trusts and Sipradian Sahayata Sanstha.

As I said both Tata Trusts and Akshaya Patra didn’t have a mandate to operate in Nepal, but Sipradian Motors who have an NGO arm called Sipradian Sahayata Sanstha (SSS) have a great presence in the region. Their help was crucial to paving the way for the project to run smoothly. The collaboration between the three of these organisations (Akshaya Patra, Tata Trusts and SSS) went off well. Now if we get the opportunity to start something in Nepal, Sipradian can be our ready partner.

Can we look forward to such collaborations in future?

Yes, we do see more collaboration with them. Nepal doesn’t have a Mid-Day Meal Programme, so the implementation of such programmes will be helpful to the people.

What are the high points of your experience?

One of the high points was that we were able to play a part in reducing the distress of the people. With their daily food taken care of, they could take focus on reconstruction.

We stood true to our word and earned the goodwill of the people.

 P.S – The Nepal kitchen closed operations as planned on September 17, 2015 after serving 1.4 million meals across 88 days in the region. The Akshaya Patra Foundation thanks everyone involved in making this initiative a success.