Annapoorna Trust in Collaboration with RIST & PFC
Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust, a charitable trust headquartered in Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka, India has been providing Morning Nutrition to over 500,000 school-going children across 22 states and 3 union territories.
During the COVID pandemic, the support staff of Annapoorna or the cooks who prepared morning nutrition at these schools were hit hard. Mid-day meal cooks were the ones who have filled the stomachs of children in Govt schools during regular times. So, it was our responsibility & duty to first address their needs during this pandemic. The Trust took on itself, the responsibility of the livelihood of these cooks and other needy families in the surrounding villages.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food.
At this crucial juncture, Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust reached out to Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) and Partnerships For Change (PFC) for support and help in providing one month dry ration in the last two years. This successful collaboration resulted in providing 15,721 kits to the rural midday meal cooks carried out in 3 different phases across various states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal in India. Mid-day meals cooks and the families of children studying in government schools were particularly targeted along with small number of daily wage labourers, fishermen community, agriculturists etc.
Phase I details during the month of June 2021 in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
Taluk/Mandal | Recipients |
Madhugiri | 694 |
Pavagada | 565 |
Chikkaballapur | 433 |
Chintamani | 606 |
Gowribidanur | 595 |
Bagepalli | 427 |
Gudibande | 156 |
Sidlaghata | 481 |
Vizianagaram | 73 |
Vishakapatnam | 155 |
Prakasam | 366 |
Nizamabad | 245 |
Sircilla | 148 |
Mahbubnagar | 26 |
Siddipet | 73 |
5043 |
By providing Morning Nutrition, it has helped particularly the girl children by improvement in their health parameters along with education of the girl children in skill development programs, be it tailoring, quilling, machinery learning or any other program, which would help them rise to the occasion to be self-reliant and self-confident when any such pandemic or other untoward events occur. Helping the children, esp., training the girl children in various skill development opportunities has been an eye-opener to them and they also realize a good valuable resource being provided to them. The importance of addressing gatherings is to be noted since it is done in order to motivate the cooks and to make their lives relevant in the current situation.
Phase II details during the months of June/July/Aug & Sept 2021 in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
Taluk/Mandal | Recipients |
Bagepalli | 428 |
Gouribidanur | 596 |
Muddenahalli | 65 |
Pavagada | 142 |
Bangalore Urban | 113 |
Mysore | 5 |
Ramanagara | 511 |
Devanahalli | 38 |
Hassan | 47 |
Vatahoshalli | 10 |
Chimakurthy | 120 |
Markapuram | 102 |
Totapalli Gudur | 141 |
Kothapatnam | 50 |
Tirupathi Rural | 443 |
Ongole Rural | 40 |
Parigi | 112 |
Narasingapalli | 300 |
Mahbubnagar | 102 |
Bachannapet | 80 |
Siddipet | 275 |
Nagar Kurnool | 251 |
Nagar Kurnool | 97 |
Hyderabad | 113 |
Bhuvanagiri | 61 |
Jagityala | 29 |
Sircilla | 125 |
Kadthal | 109 |
4505 |
While the Trust has been supporting the rural communities, it is not just the women but also the entire family which is able to get the right support. It also gave a platform and an opportunity to interact with them, to inspire them, motivate them and ensure they don’t get discouraged during these pandemic times. This could not have happened without the support of the two organizations, RIST and PFC who have come forward. Our utmost gratitude to them for being with us and helping us during the tough times.
Phase III details during the months of Sept/Nov in 2021 & Jan/Mar/Apr/May in 2022 in the states of Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana.
Taluk/Mandal | Recipients |
Rataitha | 300 |
Krishnagiri | 334 |
Dharmapuri | 481 |
Dindigul | 60 |
Chennai | 55 |
Anamalai & Valparia | 500 |
Musiri | 90 |
Durgapur | 100 |
Thanneerpalli & Manavasi | 100 |
Khammam | 391 |
Nalgonda | 401 |
Medchal – Malkajgiri | 409 |
Chikkaballapur | 437 |
Chintamani | 612 |
Gowribidanur | 596 |
Bagepalli | 428 |
Gudibande | 145 |
Sidlaghatta | 472 |
Tirupati rural | 262 |
| 6173 |
During the last two years of efforts to support the needy, coming together of sarkara, the government samaja, the local communities and sanstha, NGOs and very prominent esteemed foundations like RIST and PFC can definitely make a difference in the living and the livelihood of many of these needy families with the hope of everlasting smile on their faces.
