Rajasthan, the nation’s largest state, has long been considered one of India’s brightest jewels. Adorned with a rich, vibrant cultural history and beautiful landscape, it is one of the most favored tourist destinations of the country. With parts of the Indus Valley Civilization located in Rajasthan, it is considered the cradle of India’s birth.

However, Rajasthan’s glorious past is in stark contrast to the reality it faces today. The state is continually hit with severe drought that cripples the thousands of people in the region who survive on agriculture. In fact, in the last 100 years, it has been hit with 84 droughts.

This year again, the Government of Rajasthan has declared ‘Akal’ or drought in the Nathdwara district of the state. In October of 2002 when it last faced such a situation, nearly 40 million people were affected and 50 million livestock suffered. With so many severe situations constantly recurring, the State Government of Rajasthan has taken various steps to bring relief to the area. It is working with the United Nations Development Program to strengthen its co-ordination systems and revive traditional water harvesting structures. Many other organizations are also involved in Rajasthan’s efforts to combat the problems being faced.

Akshaya Patra is one such organization. On the request of the State Government of Rajasthan, our kitchen in Nathdwara is now functioning around the year to provide food for drought-affected children in the area. By doing so, we hope to bring relief and provide any help we can to the beautiful and charming people of Rajasthan.

Source: United Nations Development Program

Imagine a new-born child, the latest addition to a family of 5, fresh with the hope of a new beginning. She announces her arrival into the world with her first breath, fiercely staking her claim to life, much to the joy of her parents. Her very birth is a miracle.

Being born in a marginalized section of society, chances are high that before she has even begun on this journey of life, she will have to overcome many challenges. Of every thousand live births in India, she may be one of the 69 children who will not grow to see their 5th birthday. In fact, being born in a marginalized section of society, she is probably one of the 43% of under 5 children in the country who are either moderately or severely underweight[1]. Her mother herself is weak from the efforts of childbirth.

Her parents take her home to their small shack, shining with happiness, like all new parents. As her father leaves for his job at a nearby construction site, her mother settles in for a typical day. She cleans and cooks for her 3 other children and sends them to school. Now the rest of her day really begins. She must start her work making cotton wicks for oil lamps. Like the rest of the 42% of India’s population, she and her family must survive on less than $1.25 (approx. Rs. 57) a day[2]. The addition of a new member means there is an added strain on their meager resources. As she works through the hours, she must also take care of their baby girl.

The day wears on as she juggles motherhood with her job, growing more and more hungry as the time goes by. But there is not enough food for two proper meals in a day, much less three, and she must carry on until the evening. She thinks of the future of her children, dreams of what they could become in the future.

The dipping sun heralds the end of the day and she is surprised to see her husband return early from work. It is only 7:30 in the evening and he is already back. There is a reason for this. A reason that has nothing to do with them; it has gushed down from the wealthiest countries in the world, gathering momentum in its wake, wreaking the greatest havoc to the most vulnerable. The global economic crisis has reached their front step. And her husband has lost his job.

What will the family do now? Like 34% of the country’s over-15 population, both husband and wife can neither read nor write[3]. With less than 4 years of schooling, the new father’s chances of finding another job are slim in such bleak economic conditions. How will he keep his children in school now? More importantly, how will he even provide food for them? What will be the fate of their new born baby girl?

This may be an imaginary situation, but to thousands of fathers and mothers across the country, it is a reality. The fate of this baby girl is the fate of many. There is one way out of this grip of poverty: education, but how can they afford to even think of education when there is not enough for food? Every basic amenity is a luxury to the hungry, because hunger has a way of occupying the mind unlike anything else.
A person might ask: how can we help the family? If we posed that question to the mother or father, they might answer simply, “Help my child, and you will have helped me.”

To those of us who have the benefit of Fate’s kindness, one full meal a day may seem like nothing. But to others, especially children, to whom Fortune has not been so kind, it is the difference between poverty and prosperity. It means a full stomach and an invigorated mind that can concentrate on learning and growing, rather than trying to find the next meal. It means there is a chance at an education and a future.

Akshaya Patra provides that meal to over 1.2 million underprivileged children every school day. It may seem like nothing, but to thousands of parents across India, it means that the joy of their lives, their children, get to eat well and grow healthy. And dare to dream of a brighter tomorrow.

Source-[1,2,3]UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html#67