FIGHTING HUNGER
THE MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAM
- India has the highest number of children who are malnourished, about 57 million in all.
- Around six thousand poor children die every day due to malnutrition.
- An equal number would be marginally malnourished or at least suffer from subnutrition.
IT’S TIME WE ACT
Child malnourishment and hunger-borne diseases are widespread in India, with more than 57 million children affected.
The flagship programme of Dharma Bharathi Mission has the goal to fight child hunger by providing mid-day meals for unaided schools in unprivileged areas in India.
The first mid-day meals were distributed to the eastern neighbourhoods of Mumbai, which are known for their garbage dumping yards. These slum areas are dominated by dirt, disease and insufficient infrastructure.
Mid-day meals are often the only nutritious meal children of these areas are receiving as the family cannot provide food to the numerous family members. Until today Dharma Bharathi Mission has supplied over two million meals to children.
METHODOLOGY
- Mid-day Meal was introduced in the schools in and around the
DBM centre in Govandi. - Meals are provided to school children at lunch time for the entire
year. - Hygienically prepared meals are transported by Dharma Bharathi
Mission in Mumbai. - In the other units such as Lucknow, Nasik and Nagpur needy
areas have been identified and Mid-Meals are provided by
volunteers themselves in Matru Bhavans. - Health checkups are done twice a year – to arrest malnutrition as most of the children are underweight malnourished or anemic. Health check up helps to identify issues and bring corrective measures.
IMPACT
- For many children, the DBM mid-day meal is their only complete
meal that they have access to during the entire day. - Program resulted in significant increase of enrollment in schools,
improved attendance levels, reduced drop-out rates and better
attention spans. - Apart from reducing malnourishment this is one way to ensure
their regular attendance to school.
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
WE WANT TO HELP TO AS MANY AS WE CAN
As a non-profit we have limited resources. Your contribution will help us reach out to more people who need us.
YOUR SUPPORT WILL BRING MORE ENERGY
Our donors are the organisation’s life force. Our children depend on your support.
YOU HELP US REACH NEW AUDIENCES
We are sure that you would like to talk about our work with your friends and family. This way we hope we have more people knowing about our work.
