Prashant H. Fadia Foundation supports the cause of underprivileged children in Vrindavan, India

The day: October 10^th, 2005. The place: Vrindavan in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India.

It was a moment of great pride and fulfillment for Mrs. Saloni P. Fadia to see her late husband Mr. Prashant H. Fadia’s dream unfolds in front of her eyes. When she handed over the keys of the two custom built vehicles dedicated for the distribution of free mid-day meals to underprivileged children in and around Vrindavan, Fadia’s long-cherished wishes came true. 

In a special ceremony organized by the Akshaya Patra Foundation at Vrindavan, Mrs. Saloni Fadia, who had personally come down to India, flagged off the vehicles--a Mahindra Pickup and Mitsubishi Eicher—thereby ensuring that the less fortunate children are not denied nutritious food, whatever be the distance of their schools. The Fadia family was represented by Mrs. Saloni, her mother Mrs. Kusum Shah, and brother of Late Prashant Fadia, Mr. Avinash H. Fadia.

More than 100-odd children from nearby villages were also present during the occasion. In fact, the invocatory prayer sung by three young girls emphasized education. It was indeed heart-wrenching to hear some of these children talk about the food being a great incentive for them to come to school. Education is a must, considering the rampant illiteracy in these areas. Sample this: while casually talking to children, a 11-year-old girl confessed that she had been married for the last two years! 

Concerned by such social backwardness and abject poverty that exists in most parts of Western Uttar Pradesh, late Prashant Fadia had always longed to mitigate the sufferings of the people, particularly, under privileged children, and in Akshaya Patra his family seems to have found the right cause to espouse.

For the latecomers, Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of India’s largest and pioneering social initiatives to alleviate hunger among the underprivileged children and foster education, through free wholesome, mid-day meals. The Foundation, which started off in Bangalore in mid-2000, now feeds 270, 000 children in 1,000 government schools in 8 locations in India.

Nutrition-rich food is cooked in automated, centralized kitchens and distributed through such special-purpose vehicles to children in government schools and anganwadis (government day care centers) with a clear vision: No child in India should be hungry and hunger should not be an obstacle to education. The menu varies according to local preferences. In North, it is rotis, lentils or curry ands vegetable rice/sweet porridge whereas in the South, it is rice, sambar with vegetables and yoghurt.

However, it is rather unfortunate that Prashant Fadia did not live to see his dreams come true. In spite of personal grief, the Fadia family has been very magnanimous and supportive of the Akshaya Patra Foundation and its philanthropic activities and the Foundation acknowledges their support.

Mr. C. C. Das is the Executive Director with Akshaya Patra Foundation. He will be visiting Boston, MA between November 22 to November 26, 2005. He will be reachable on his cell phone 440 364 2483. His email is ccd@akshayapatra.org.

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