The US President elect found it a sterling example of ‘what is possible when people work together’
The Akshaya Patra mid-day meal programme run by ISKCON has drawn praise from US President elect Barack Obama. He appreciated the good work done by the Akshaya Patra Foundation in a letter that he wrote to them before he was elected as President of United States.
While Obama was on his campaign trail, he heard about Akshaya Patra mid-day meal programme of India and took time off to send a congratulatory note. In the note sent to the head of Akshaya Patra office in Boston, he writes, “Your use of efficient and innovative business practices to scale up in just a few years from feeding 1,500 school children daily to almost a million is a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when people work together.”
He points out that the Akshaya Patra could serve as a model for other countries as well. The letter reads, “I want to congratulate you and the people of the Akshaya Patra Foundation for the incredible progress you’ve made in feeding the children of India. Your use of efficient and innovative business practices to scale up in just a few years from feeding 7001 school children daily to almost a million is a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when people work together.
“Behavioural, emotional and academic problems are more prevalent among children with hunger. Hunger and malnutrition also make it much more difficult to fight AIDS and other public health challenges. By feeding children now, you are helping to avoid any negative consequences that would be much more difficult and expensive to address later on.
“In just a few years, Akshaya Patra has become the largest single feeding program in the world. Your example of using advanced technologies in central kitchens to reach children in 5,700 schools is an imaginative approach that has the potential to serve as a model for other countries. Thank you again for all of your efforts”. Said Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation, “We hope one day we will be able to showcase one of our large kitchens to Barack Obama and demonstrate how our governments and civil societies are working in partnership for the development of our children to bring about a transformation in the country.”
The other ISKCON authorities too are thrilled to get a compliment from a personality like Obama. They say that he wants to replicate the programme in African countries.
