No More Hungry Kids in Government Schools

While poverty rates in the country have been declining over the past decade, there are still children who have been going hungry in government schools. While middle class and upper-class families have placed an emphasis on their children’s nutritional requirements, families living below the poverty line are unable to do so. Apart from the well-known case of malnourishment, this also causes children to lose focus on their studies and instead start laboring from an early age since their families can’t afford to feed them as they grow.

The situation got even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic since even working adults couldn’t afford their food. During the months of February and March 2021, Help2Educate Foundation took it upon itself to distribute dry ration kits in government schools and help families facing food shortages due to the lockdowns. We started the mission in Jakkur Primary School in Bengaluru and decided to carry it out till Ramachandrapuram.

The team leader devraju supervised the packaging process prior to distribution and ensured that each ration kit would have all the essentials that a family would require for survival. While we didn’t expect many families to show up in the first place, we were a bit surprised by the low headcount at the first school. This was also accompanied by the reluctance to collect food from strangers during uncertain times. However, the team ensured them that all the necessary precautions were taken to curb the spread of the virus at the premises. We also distributed masks and hand sanitizers to the families and our team leader talked about the importance of constantly washing hands and staying clean.

After we began gaining the trust of the people, more families began showing up in the subsequent schools of Ramamurthy Nagar, Vaderahalli, Vasanth Nagar, and Ramachandrapuram. In all, we were able to provide food for 500 families and it was an emotional experience for the entire team. Seeing how hard the situation has hit families with little children and how little support there is for them was a harsh reality that made us even more determined to continue changing lives.

During each step of the mission, we had the support of many community members who also came out to help as volunteers. The experience helped create a deeper sense of compassion for their underprivileged neighbors. Fortunately, the mission went as per plan and we were able to help feed the growing future of our nation. Help2Educate Foundation hopes to continue impacting the lives of our youth and lead them to a better future.