Dust off your cameras and get ready to get clicking! Akshaya Patra’s annual photography competition Click a Smile is back! Launched on 20th November, this competition will run till 22nd December 2015. With a line up of judges that will thrill the shutterbug in you, here’s a platform to showcase your passion. Whether it’s capturing something different, or something ordinary in a different way, Click a Smile is your annual opportunity to share your craft with the world.

Our panel of judges featuring Kanick Samuel, Senior Creative Director from JWT Bangalore; Suresh V.B, Professional Photographer and Vicky Roy, Documentary Photographer, are eager to see your work. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an amateur or a professional; all you need to do is send us a beautiful, meaningful picture taken by you of a smiling child (or children) to stand a chance at being selected among the top three winners who will receive a trophy and gift voucher. The top fifty photographs will also be showcased later in Akshaya Patra’s annual photography exhibition with full credit to the artist responsible.

This international contest is open to participants of any age and nationality. We want all of you to take part in this opportunity to spread the joy of a child’s smile with the world. Just send in your pictures in a digital format, with a file size of less than 4 MB, and a minimum resolution of 800 pixels to be eligible. Each contestant can send in a maximum of three photographs.

Last year we saw about 1,400 entries pouring in from nearly 50 countries! Take part in Click a Smile 2015 and help us double that. Together we can take the joy of a child’s smile around the world! To register, click here.

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.