Sterling-ITC and The Akshaya Patra Foundation have come together to provide mid-day meals to around 10,000 children in Jaipur and Delhi. With the campaign ‘Bhookh Se Azaadi’ it aims to boost the mid-day meal scheme introduced by the Government of India. As part of the scheme, the Government provides school lunch to the children studying in Government and Government-aided school. The meal is known to increase the number of school enrolments and daily school attendance. It has been observed that the concentration level among the children has gone up and their academic performance has also improved. This tie-up has helped many children hailing from poor economic conditions, to continue their education and not leave the school midway due to monetary pressure.
Events
Mid-Day Meal campaign
Food Donation
All ages are affected by food insecurity and the related health issues. For such a large at-risk population, we as an organization are helping. By recognizing hunger as a health issue, we can work to address the most serious, and costly, effects while reducing hunger in India. Our research show that certain groups of people, such as children, the elderly, and the homeless are even more susceptible to the effects of hunger and food insecurity. We are sponsoring food drives using certain feeding platform to host their drives. Donations are done based on the no. of people and age group. Donating is a great way to make direct impact on those individuals who are struggling and finding it hard to earn for themselves. We also organise workshops and campaigns to raise awareness among our employees. The objective is to enhance understanding of the issue and enlist campaigns to help address the issue. We as an organization also aspire to start our own donation-driven organisation in the future and feed millions so that no one ever goes to bed on an empty stomach.
Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the most significant cleanliness campaign by the Government of India. Shri Narendra Modi led a cleanliness pledge at India Gate, which about thirty lakh government employees across the country joined. We were invited to join the cleanliness drive. Our team held a drive at the Central Park Jaipur on 03-02-2019. The event was a huge success as people of all groups from the organisation joined the work. A sense of responsibility has been evoked among the people through the Clean India Movement. Millions of people across the country have been day after day joining the cleanliness initiatives of the government departments, NGOs and local community centres to make India clean. Organising frequent cleanliness campaigns to spreading awareness about hygiene through plays and music is also being widely carried out across the nation. Taking the broom to sweep the streets, cleaning up the garbage, focussing on sanitation and maintaining a hygienic environment have become a practice after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Slum Service Drive
Climate change bring radical change in the environment. And the need for clothing plays a vital role especially during winters. Due to cold many of the children living in slums are getting sick day by day. "About 80 per cent of slums in Faisalabad district children are badly affected by winter. Living in open shed make this situation more sober. Recent visit to target area shows us figure of common cold, flu and other viral infections. We provide warm clothing to children, blankets and necessary medication. Winter kit/pack is made for each member as distributed. And the services are not only limited to slums, our team also travels from place to place during the night time to provide the roadside families suffering in the cold.