Narayana Health’s support towards Morning Nutrition for Govt School children, 29th July 2024
“We can solve the global hunger crisis and together we can do this in our lifetime.” – John Lennon
When Sarkara (Government), Samaja (Society), and Sanstha (Organization) join together as a force, a revolution of change can be brought.
The Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust (also referred to as the Annapoorna Trust) in collaboration with Narayana Health (formerly known as Narayana Hrudayalaya) successfully completed two years of providing Morning Nutrition to 1000 children in 12 schools around Kengeri, which is a western suburb of Bangalore City in Karnataka.
On 29th July 2024, the Morning Nutrition program in continued partnership with Narayana Health was officially relaunched for the third year at GLPS Yelachaguppe Rampura, Kengeri.
Narayana Health is a private hospital network headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was founded by Dr. Devi Shetty in the year 2000 and has grown from seeds of compassion. Dr. Devi Shetty is a renowned cardiac surgeon who made quality healthcare accessible to all.
On a Monday morning at 7:00 AM, the sun cast a warm glow on the welcoming faces of the schoolchildren who were neatly dressed in blue uniforms with their hair done well. They were seated with discipline in orderly rows, looking forward to the relaunch of the Morning Nutrition program.
Morning Nutrition is vital, especially for growing children. Unfortunately, economically disadvantaged students sometimes arrive at school eating only a pack of biscuits or even worse, on an empty stomach, which severely fails to meet their nutritional needs.
Providing Morning Nutrition plays a transformative role in this context. By meeting the children’s daily nutritional needs and ensuring their stomachs are full, it prevents hunger from becoming a barrier to their education.
During the event Mr. Muthuraj, CSR team of Narayana Health for Karnataka, and Mr. Krishna Iyengar, Food Consultant and Advisor to Narayana Health were present.
Mr. Ashish Bhardwaj, National Manager of CSR; Mr. B.S. Sai Bhaskar, Partner Relationship Manager; and Mr. Anil R. Lingayat, Senior Executive of Operations represented Annapoorna Trust.
During the launch, Mr. Muthuraj conveyed that they had received positive feedback and strong cooperation from the schools. As a result, Narayana Health was eager to continue the services.
Also, on the occasion, Krishna Iyengar stated, “Today’s children are the future torchbearers of our nation. They need to take a keen interest in learning from their teachers and grow into responsible citizens.”
The teachers, Ms. Uma, the Headmistress of GLPS Yelachaguppe, and Ms. Rajeshwari, the Local Panchayat President of Yelachaguppe Rampura, who were also present, shared their experiences regarding the positive impact the Morning Nutrition program has had.
Ms. Uma said before the introduction of the Morning Nutrition program, which was two years ago, some children would experience dizziness from not having proper food in the morning. Nowadays, they enthusiastically arrive at school much earlier on their own and are much more active.
None of this would have been possible for these children in the Kengeri region without Narayana Health. The Annapoorna Trust extends its heartfelt gratitude to Ankit Shrimali, Head of CSR Fund Raising at Narayana Hrudayalaya, for his invaluable support towards this cause.
Towards the end of the program, Laddus was distributed to the children and the event concluded.
We look forward to continued association with Narayana Health in creating a nourished society.
