BIAL: A Partnership to Fly Sky High!
Food security is one of the major concerns in India. A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. The main cause of Food insecurity is Poverty.
Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. It is one of the most important SDGs for India, where a significant proportion of the population are still undernourished. There are several challenges to achieving SDG 2 in India like the growing population, climate change, and many more. Several Government initiatives like Poshan Abhiyan, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), National Food Security Act (NFSA), etc, are addressing the challenges of hunger and malnutrition. Achieving SDG 2 in India is essential for the country’s sustainable development. In addition to the government, several private organizations also play an important role in addressing these challenges.
Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust works towards addressing the issues of hidden hunger and malnutrition in India. It serves morning nutrition to nearly 10 million children across 25 states and 4 union territories. The Trust advocates the principle of 3S (Sarkara – government, Samaja – society, and Sanstha – good institutions) working together for a noble cause. The Trust has collaborated with the governments and several corporate partners to reach out to the young children in the remote corners, who are the future torchbearers of our nation.
Collaboration with BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Limited)
Kempe Gowda International Airport Foundation (KIAF), a subsidiary of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) was incorporated as an NGO in March 2020. The Foundation’s main objective is to create social value through targeted interventions for communities around the Airport and social ecosystem at large. The Foundation works on five flagship initiatives – Namma Shikshana (Holistic Education), Namma Arogya (Promotion of Health), Namma Ooru (Integrated Development), Namma Nela-Namma Jala (Water & Sanitation) and Namma Parampare (Conservation of Culture & Heritage).
The journey of Annapoorna Trust with BIAL began in early 2018, by distributing health biscuits to nearly 110 – 120 schools, and later, with the support of BIAL, Annapoorna Trust began providing cooked breakfast to 60-70 schools in Devanahalli district. A variety of meticulously planned menu on all the days of the week – Avalakki, Rice Pongal, Vegetable Upma, Vegetable Rice, Lemon Rice, Ragi Malt, are provided to the children. Our partnership with BIAL during 2022 till 2024 as mentioned below:
Year | Location | No. of Servings | No. of children benefited |
2022-23 | Devanahalli, Bangalore | 3,00,000 | 1,200 |
2023-24 | Devanahalli, Bangalore | 2,54,538 | 1,074 |
Employee Volunteering
The KIAF team led by the CSR Manager, Ms. Pratibha Kulkarni, along with 35 school teachers of Devanahalli visited Sathya Sai Grama in October 2022. The teachers and cooks of the government schools supported by KIAF in association with Annapoorna Trust, who are a part of the Morning Nutrition programme from Devanahalli came to Sathya Sai Grama (Annapoorna Trust headquarters) for a visit. There was a session on an overview of the NEH (Nutrition, Education, and Healthcare) mission at the event. After lunch, they were taken on a guided tour of the campus, the educational campus, and the hospital. The teachers were highly motivated by the holistic way of transforming children growing in an ambient environment.
Research has consistently shown a positive correlation between employee engagement and participation in volunteer activities. Engaged employees tend to be more committed to their work, resulting in higher productivity in their workplace. Also, these activities give the employees opportunities to volunteer for a good cause, who otherwise would not get such occasions often, owing to their busy schedules. This way, they feel part of the community, to which they can give back.
Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust looks forward to continued partnership with BIAL in this journey of giving back to our community, to our society, to our children of our nation.
