It was their day and we wanted to give them something to remember! And going by the smiles at the end of the day, we at Udaan, can certainly say that we indeed gave them a reason to smile and an occasion to remember!

Udaan, a youth initiative of The Akshaya Patra Foundation was launched on 14th November 09. Our objective is to give wings to the dreams of the children in the schools where our school meal program is operational. We do this by organizing extra-curricular activities that help nurture the talent in the children. Our team of volunteers works directly with the children, helping them participate in activities and become confident young members of our society.

On the occasion of Children’s Day, we launched the program at Malleshwaram Government Model Primary School and invited the children of Government Urdu Medium School Malleshwaram to join us too. In all, we had 210 children participate in the event. As a run-up to the event, we had organized a special activity in the school on 13th November 2009. The Udaan team had visited the school with decorative colored papers, balloons, ribbons, etc. and adorned the walls of the classrooms. We invited the children to participate in a craft session with us.

The program on Children’s Day, started with colorful hand-prints of the children, teachers, and every one present, including our Executive Director and the Chief Guest Mr. S.B.Iyer (Retd. Director of ISRO). We also screened an exclusive video of the PSLV launch and the children were thrilled to see this.

We then rolled out ‘Bucket Full of Crayons’, our painting and art competition. It brought out the beautiful thoughts of children through the medium of colors and art. Uninhibited by a theme, the children expressed themselves freely and enjoyed putting their ideas on paper through visuals. The next event was a fun activity. The children had to dress with newspaper. They dressed themselves with different types of caps, bands skirts, etc. all made with newspaper. This was a group activity that brought together students from two different schools and saw them bonding well. By the end of the game we could see a good friendship between the children of the Kannada medium and the Urdu medium schools. It was certainly a day filled with high energy, positivity, hope and laughter. The cherry on the cake was the special Akshaya Patra food served to the children, which made them feel special.

Akshaya Patra and Udaan would like to thank all the volunteers who worked hard to make this day happen.

We, at Udaan, look forward to soaring to greater heights through the coming year.

Just a few minutes remained for lunch break but Santosh could wait no longer. There are hardly any words to describe the eagerness in the 7th standard student’s eyes as he looked out of the window, waiting for his lesson to be over. As the clock struck noon, Santosh along with his friends, ran into the dining area, ready for piping hot food. It was their favorite Akshaya Patra’s rice and sambhar today.

Like thousands of children across India, Santosh works in the evening at a construction site for a mere pittance. Having lost his mother at a young age, he lives with his uncle, who also works as a mason at the same site. Because he lives with his guardians, he cannot say no when asked to go to work, but fortunately for him, his uncle and aunt do not force him. Santosh wants to become a police officer. He says “I will study whatever it may take to become one.”

Manjunath, his friend, has a similar story to tell. His father, also a construction worker, puts constant pressure on him to go to work. But, the little boy’s aspiration to become an Engineer spurs him on to finish his education.

However, children like Santosh and Manjunath have many challenges to face: their circumstances may force them to drop out of the education system long before they can hope to make their dreams come true. Nearly 13.5 million underprivileged children in India like Manjunath and Santosh are out of school and into child labour in order to earn a single meal in a day.

What Akshaya Patra aims to do is give such children the boost they need to make the most of their lives. By providing freshly cooked mid-day meals to poor children, Akshaya Patra is helping them in the most effective way: it is providing them with a healthy balanced meal, so they have the energy to pursue their dreams.

Akshaya Patra’s food for education school meal program addresses two major problems facing India’s poor children: lack of food and lack of education.
The mid-day meal provided by the Foundation on all school days acts not only nourishes them, but also acts as an incentive to bring them back to school.

We hope that with continued effort, children like Santosh and Manjunath, will not have to give up their dreams just to be able to earn a meal.