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| A Chance To Salute Narayana Murthy - A Shining Star Of India |
Madhu Sridhar
09/04/2008
Akshaya Patra invites you to the annual benefit gala to honor Narayana Murthy, the founder and chairman of Infosys and a shining star of India whose accomplishments and contributions invoke in us pride for our country. It is an opportunity for us to salute this jewel among us who put India on the global map. Let us not miss this chance to express our gratitude in person. Akshaya Patra will celebrate its accomplishments at the gala scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 2008 at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. For more information, visit www.akshayapatrausa.org
Akshaya Patra, the largest NGO (non profit) run mid day school meal program is now serving school lunches to 960,814 underprivileged children in 5,778 schools from 15 kitchens. Akshaya Patra opened two new kitchens last month in the states of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The kitchen in Chhattisgarh is located in Bhilai in the rural Raipur section. This kitchen is serving 25,000 students in 102 schools. The kitchen in Andhra Pradesh is located in the city of Hyderabad and serves 25,000 students in 87 schools.
Akshaya Patra’s mid day school meal program is a solution to address widespread hunger and malnutrition affecting 57 million children in India and the debilitating effects of lack of schooling and illiteracy. Rather than feeding children on the streets and overlooking their full potential, or attempting to educate children on empty stomachs when their ability to focus on learning is minimal, Akshaya Patra provides an innovative solution which simultaneously addresses the twin challenges of hunger and education.
A public-private partnership, we combine good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver school lunch at the low-cost of $28 per child per year. In our fully automated kitchens, we prepare meals for 185,000 children in less than 5 hours. Food stocks are sourced from local farmers, insulating the program from external price shocks and we employ local workers.
For many children, the Akshaya Patra school meal is their only complete meal for the day. These meals serve as an incentive for children to come to school, stay in school and provide them with the necessary nutrients they need to focus on learning. Akshaya Patra is determined not to let hunger set boundaries for learning and achievement. Theses meals have produced dramatic results on children’s health, school attendance and academic performance, especially for girls as demonstrated by AC Nielsen, an independent research firm.
In a short time, the foundation has grown to become the largest, and certainly most innovative, school lunch program in the world. Akshaya Patra is a great example of what a non-profit organization can achieve-- a cost effective, scalable solution with high quality service delivery.
Narayan Murthy, a strong supporter of Akshaya Patra, is known for his personal commitment and impassioned efforts to help children achieve and succeed by giving them the opportunities that they deserve. He received the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award in 2008, the Indian government’s second highest civilian award. Founder and chairman of Infosys, TIME magazine identified him as one of the ten global leaders who are helping shape the future of technology. Infosys is the first India-registered company to be listed on NASDAQ.
Akshaya Patra is honored to present him as our keynote speaker for the event. For more information, please visit www.akshayapatrausa.org or call Kathleen Cosgrove at 781 438 3090
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