Blog To Feed A Child
India is a country
where a thousand dreams die even without seeing the light of the day and only
some are fulfilled because a big chunk of our society still forbids their kids from
growing beyond the societal boundaries they were born in. And guess what, the
fences of this section of society are some simple questions, “Padhega toh
kamaega kya?” “Kamaega nahi toh khaega kya?” and “Padhega Kaise, Paise kya ped
pe lage hain? (“If you study now where will money come from?” “If you don’t earn
what will you eat?” “How will you study, money doesn’t grow on trees.”) Yes, we
have come too far from where we had dropped down to. We are a superlatively
rich and don’t lack in funds or resources, but poverty in India is still prominent
and a lot of kids are hungry and refused the basic right of primary education
because food trumps education in the fight for survival.
Yesterday, there was
a session in my office about education of the less privileged kids. My Office,
Deloitte USI Mumbai runs a small educational thread in its basement for the nearby
slum kids. In the session our Office Head went on to tell us about how it had
started. He said, initially to lure kids they came up with a plan – free food,
and it worked. People started sending their kids to study because they would
also get free food along with education. It got me thinking, why wasn’t free
education enough? No matter how much we convince ourselves we are not a poor
country the other side of the coin even if not seen, exists. And hunger is a
great deal not just in our country but the whole world now. People who have
seen Interstellar and mocked at the thought that led to the whole plot of the
movie, think about it!
But a hungry
child is a bigger issue than you can imagine. Think about this - endurance
level for hunger is low and for children it is the lowest. Kids not only need
enough food but food with enough nutrition to help their growth and development
- mentally, physically and psychologically. If food is a luxury, nutritive food
becomes a myth. Now if kids don’t get the right kind of food, their growth is
affected drastically putting a huge question mark on the future generation.
But like I said, we don’t
really lack in money or food. What is missing though is a system, an initiative,
a will to make a difference. Fortunately a lot of organizations like Akshaya
Patra are actively working on eliminating classroom hunger and giving a chance
to a lot of dreams to survive and see the light. Food for kids not only works
for the benefit of today but for shaping a better tomorrow. 'How' is what we will
have to work at. For now I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda. What
are you going to do?
Comments
Post a Comment