MILPITAS, CA: A venture so simple, yet so unique, that addresses the issues of education and poverty for children in India simultaneously, is gaining momentum with each passing year. At a benefit event held in Milpitas on December 6 at the India Community Center (ICC), various stakeholders of the organization, Akshaya Patra interacted with, and educated the attendees on their mission and vision, and allowed us to become active contributors to their noble cause.
The force behind this amazing movement comes from Infosys Foundation, headed by Sudha Murthy, the wife of Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys, who spearheaded the cause with an initial donation of $5 million.
Dr. Vishal Sikka, the current CEO of Infosys emphasized the company’s long standing relationship with Akshaya Patra by combining the execution excellence of for-profit organizations to the compassion of non-profits. He is committed to continuing to build on this and taking the movement to new heights.
Innovation in India bears fruit by thinking big, and outside the box with interventions to bring about and scale up, life changing solutions such as these. With a smaller scale in 2000, where only 1500 underprivileged children going to public schools were served a hot mid day meal, the numbers rose to 300,000 children in 2005. At present, the 23 kitchens across 10 states serve wholesome meals to 1.4 million children in 10,600 schools which is an incentive for struggling families to send their kids to school. While these statistics are indeed impressive, the goal is to reach 5 million children by 2020.
Desh Deshpande, the Chairman of Akshay Patra and founder of Deshpande Foundation in Hubli, India, has done much to harness the giving spirit of Indians in USA through Akshaya Patra USA which provides 10% of vital funding towards the school meals program. In dollar terms, the cost of a meal is 12 cents, of which 7 cents (about 60%) is shouldered by the Indian federal and state governments through meal and cost subsidies, so the donations required amount to only 5 cents per meal! This translates to $15 to feed a child for a year. A number we can easily wrap our brains around and willingly help the cause.
The public-private partnership of sponsorship and technological efficiencies has brought about a human revolution for Akshaya Patra, according to Dr. Sikka. He compared this movement to the Green Revolution of decades ago which was instrumental in making India self reliant for grain production. Humans, amplified by technology, can create innovation and endeavor that can build great systems and purposeful ideals.
It was revealed that almost 40% of the world’s malnourished children reside in India, which also has a 40% dropout rate, especially for girls, who work to earn money to put food on the table. Independent studies have shown that the incentive of a hot mid day meal has improved enrollment and attendance in public schools, lowered the drop-out rates, and improved health and academic performance.
The innovative, mechanized kitchens prepare 100,000 meals in 5 hours, bake 60,000 chapatis and cook 1,000 liters of rice and daal (lentil soup) in one hour. The meals are simple, but served hot, so the distance between the schools and kitchens, as well as transport modes to keep the meals hot, are also factored into the design model.
Testimonies to the powerful impact this organization has on the lives of children were many, including that from past President Bill Clinton, who visited the Akshaya Patra kitchens and facilities in 2010, and came away humbled by his interactions with the smiling and hopeful children who subsisted on one meal a day.
Children, in a taped clip also thanked the “sambhar-rice ladies” for rescuing them, or they would have starved to death. Especially humbling was the experience shared by an audience member, Dr. Tiwari who identified with the plight of the children and shared his experience of living on a few chapatis and green chillies as his only meal for a few years.
Drinking water was the only other option to fill his stomach should hunger strike again.
Aided by a generous donor who supplied him the $3 needed to fill out a medical school application, he was able to become a physician, and was awarded the “Physician of the year” award by Kaiser Permanente in California last year!
A first- hand account shared with dignity and self esteem has remained with me and encourages me to do all that I can to make more such dreams a reality.
All who spoke emphasized the primal instinct of extreme hunger pangs and what they can do to a child’s psyche. They urged audience members to experience it at least once to understand this basic need in its gravest form.
The Keynote speaker, Barbara Kinney, who served as one of the photographers with the Clinton administration shared some candid and interesting pictures taken during her tenure at the White House. Included here were pictures of Clinton’s visit to Akshaya Patra kitchens in Lucknow and Jaipur, hosted by Mr Deshpande.
Emily Rosenbaum, CEO of Akshaya Patra USA, spoke about the corporate organization in India with 5,800 employees and the excellence coming from smart engineers and management team. The number of children served daily, impeccably clean kitchens, high health and hygiene standards, nutritious and fresh meals all exemplify that the impossible can be made possible if you can dream big and execute with modern technologies and scale ups.
The organization was awarded the Gold Shield Award for five years by President Clinton in Jaipur. Her personal stories of interactions with the children interlaced with love, hope, joy and affection teared up many attendees.
The youth ambassadors, as well as the MC, Richa Sharma, also spoke about leading a privileged life in the US and not being aware that lack of food could become a barrier to education…until now. The emotional evening resulted in copious pledges forwarded by the generous attendees. We must give back and do what we can to ensure a path of forward movement for the youth in a country which we still think of as our Motherland, despite what official papers might say.
Archana Asthana
India Post News Service
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