This Holi, add colours to a child's life!

Holi, also known as the ‘Festival of colours’ is one of the most awaited festivals in India. It is celebrated across the country with much fervour and joy. It is one of the most vibrant festivals as it fills the air with hues of different colours. Mythologies and legends are testimony that Holi marks the triumph of good over evil, reassures the power of truth, and fosters harmony and togetherness. Talking about evils, hunger and illiteracy are two of the destructive elements that block the progress of a society. These are two challenges that impact the immediate society and the world at large. And, the only one way to overcome these evils is by working together in association with the government and various non-profit organisations.

This Holi, along with celebrating and enjoying with family and friends, spare some time to share the joys with children in need who looks forward to an opportunity to go to school. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit organisation that has been implementing the Mid-Day Meal Programme for the past 18 years. This programme ensures that school-going children receive their daily dose of nutrition through regular school meals. Akshaya Patra is currently providing freshly cooked, nutritious meals to more than 17.6 lakh children across 43 locations in 12 states of India. It has centralised and decentralised kitchens to cater to government schools in urban, semi-urban, and remote areas.

The school meals act as an incentive for parents to send their children to school instead of sending them to work. This meal adds hope to lakhs of families; it assures the parents that by attending school their children will receive at least one meal per day. As a supporter, when you choose to sponsor a child through Akshaya Patra, you gift the following to the child:

• An opportunity to attend school;
• A chance to learn and gather knowledge;
• A platform to get empowered with health and education;
• A direction to achieve their goals; and
• A hope that in the near future, they will liberate their families from the vicious cycle of poverty-hunger-illiteracy.

In addition, when you support these children in need, you live up to the real spirit of Holi by letting goodness of food and education triumph over the evils of hunger and illiteracy!

Along with providing mid-day meals to school children, Akshaya Patra is also involved in providing hygienic stainless-steel meal plates to its beneficiaries and providing wholesome food to Anganwadi children aged between 3 and 6 years. The various ways you can support this non-profit organisation are: volunteering, associating as a CSR partner, associating as a knowledge partner, conducting fundraising campaigns, and directly donating for the much-needed school meals.

Akshaya Patra recently served its 300th crore meal since inception and this milestone was commemorated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The Foundation was conferred with the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize 2016 for its contribution towards socio-economic development of the country by providing the crucial mid-day meals to children. Akshaya Patra is also the first NGO to be inducted into the ICAI Hall of Fame and winner of ICAI Gold Shield Award for excellence in financial reporting for seven consecutive years.

As a non-profit organisation, Akshaya Patra aims at expanding its reach to serve more and more children. This Holi, add the colours of nutrition and education in the lives of children. Partake in Akshaya Patra’s mission of feeding 5 million children by 2025 by choosing to sponsor a child.

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The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a mid-day meal NGO in India serving more than 1.76 million children across 12 states of India. This meal helps children to attend school regularly and also improves the literacy rate. Support school meals of millions of children and let the goodness of food and education win over the evils of hunger and illiteracy.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an Ngo in India providing food for 1.6 million school children across 12 States and 28 locations.