It needs no introduction. An entry into Limca Book of World Records; appreciation from none other than US President Barack Obama and its work as a case study at Harvard University! The latest addition to its achievements — churning out 40,000 rotis for children in just one hour.

Akshaya Patra Foundation, which runs the world’s largest school-meal programme, has improved its kitchen services by increasing the number of rotis produced to meet the requirement of children. The ‘roti machine’, which was first introduced in 2004 in Brindavan, had a massive task ahead of them. The foundation, which reaches 11.86 lakh children across the country, had made thousands of rotis for kids in North India.
“In that part of the country, children asked for rotis instead of rice. And preparing so many rotis requires more manpower. So we bought the unique machine,” said Vyomapada Das, who is looking after the kitchen at Bhilai.

HUNT ON FOR BETTER MACHINE
After Das and his colleague found that the roti-making machine in Amritsar was expensive, they decided to hunt for a similar machine at a reasonable rate. Luckily, they came across a person who could make ‘desi’ style rotis. After negotiation, they paid  Rs.12 lakh for it.

But there was a problem. The machine produced 10,000 rotis per hour while the requirement was to feed 5,000 children. “We tried to solve the problem, and we found out we needed six such machines within a space of 10,000 sqft. It would cost us between Rs 60-70 lakh,” said Narasimha Das, who is in charge of Brindavan kitchen.

When the team contacted the same machine supplier, the latter couldn’t improve the production count. “Then we contacted companies in the US and Holland. A firm in Holland suggested to increase the width of the oven from 0.9 m to 1.2 m and to increase the speed to 12 m per minute. The oven portion was also extended so that rotis can be fully cooked,” said Narasimha Das.

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Though unemployed, a number of teenagers have a good amount of money at their disposal. With Video games, chocolates, branded sneakers and other a million things available to spend it on, their money soon finds its way out of their pockets. However for 15-year-old Maithreya Sitaraman the case is different. A 10th grade student in Bangalore International School, Maithreya collects his pocket money and contributes it voluntarily to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world’s largest NGO-run school mid day meal programme. Over the past three years he has donated close to Rs.50, 000, which has helped the foundation increase its beneficiary base.

“There is nothing unusual about what it. All I do is accumulate money given by my grand parents and other relatives and give it to feed lunch in schools,” he says.

When asked why he chose to do so, Maithreya explains that he was astounded by the fact that it takes just a little more than Rs.500 to feed a child for a whole year. He heard his parents talk about this in the living room.

Maithreya’s volunteering act doesn’t stop at donating money. He has taken it a step further. During his vacations, he has done a comprehensive research and submitted a report on identifying suitable locations to fight malnutrition so that Akshaya Patra can choose to function in an area where there can be greatest impact.
“With the help of this report, Akshaya Patra can expand their operations to Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh…” he says while explaining the proposal.
At an age where video games, football and television sitcoms are supposed to be all the craze, Maithreya thoughtfulness has made a truly meaningful impact on society. And he’s given a whole new meaning to pocket money.