The Akshaya Patra Foundation has embarked on a pilot project ‘Giving Every Dream a Chance’ in the year 2015-2016. Akshaya Patra believes that every child has a dream and each dream is valid and hence intends to provide the right path to the child. The project aims to initiate a sponsorship programme to ensure continued support to 100 children, conduct mentorship programmes to nurture talents and to identify more children with unique dreams across the country.
This unique programme was launched on June 11, 2016 at the Vivanta by Taj by Chief Guest,
Mrs. Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation, a benevolent supporter of Akshaya Patra. The event was presided by
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in the presence of
Mohandas Pai who also serves as an independent trustee of the foundation.
Sushruthi Krishna, Femina Miss India Supranational 2016, graced the event in support of the initiative. Celebrated Bollywood musician duo of
Sona Mohapatra and
Ram Sampath presented the theme song which was exclusively composed for the initiative.
Akshaya Patra launched the dreams of its three mid-day meal beneficiaries: Manjula, the debuting actress; Shivu, an aspiring astronomer and Shekar, a chef in the making. Akshaya Patra facilitated them with a two month mentorship programme wherein the children were tutored, groomed and guided by the experts in their respective fields. Manjula was mentored by Dr. Zulfia Shaikh, Founder-Director of Bangalore School of Speech & Drama. Shivu was tutored by Mrs. Preethi Krishnamurthy, a senior research fellow in astrophysics. Shekar’s passion for cooking was nurtured by renowned celebrity Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju, Executive Chef at the Vivanta by Taj.
Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa said, “This initiative is to highlight the link between food and education. Once we provide the nutrition requisite for a child to grow healthy and smart― the vast universe of dreams, ignited by education, opens up new avenues for the child to explore; and nothing becomes out of reach for a well-nourished child. Let’s end classroom hunger- meal by meal and give every dream a chance - child by child.”
Vivanta by Taj, MG Road, supported the initiative as hospitality partner while pledging to continue supporting Shekar till he achieves his dream. The all new Akshaya Patra App was also launched at the event.
Big FM 92.7 joined hands with Akshaya Patra as official radio partner and
Bfirst.com participated as online partner. The event was organised by
Eventsource and was also supported by webcast partner,
24 Frames Digital.