14th December 2023, Surat: It was the peak hours of the afternoon, but the climate was gloomy. Though monsoons had subsided, the sun hiding behind the dark clouds indicated a probability of the rain. The streets were less crowded, as people preferred spending the lazy afternoon sleeping in their homes. Similar conditions could be seen at Shri Nanabhai Primary School – 250. The lobby of the school was unexpectedly quiet. As the teachers were teaching in the classes, some backbenchers were yawning. In some classes, the students had put their heads down and slept off.

All the classes had a similar kind of scenario, except 7th C. The teacher present in the class was teaching environmental science. While doing so, the teacher asked a couple of questions to keep the children engaged in the session. And every time, a girl kept raising her hand to answer the questions. Her name was Divya. Neatly plaited hair into two ponies, a smart watch in left hand that was consistently slipping off her wrist, and donning a wide innocent smile on her face, Divya was answering questions with a prodigious confidence.
Introducing herself, she said, “My full name is Chudasama Divya Rajeshbhai. I live 15 minutes away from school with my parents and two siblings. My father, Rajeshbhai, works in a diamond factory. And my mother, Vanitaben, is a homemaker. Both of my siblings are older than me. My elder brother is in the 2nd year at a commerce college, and my sister is studying science in some college. I also want to study science like her. It is my favourite subject. Last year, I scored 66 marks out of 80 in science.”

Divya is in love with nature. She is slightly obsessed with protecting Earth and doing little things for the betterment of the environment. In fact, she has made it a point to pursue her career in the same. Talking about her aspirations, Divya says, “My goal is to become an environmental specialist and save the Earth. There is a lot of air pollution in the world due to forests being axed down. Because of this, the Ozone layer is becoming thin and there is a hole in it. This is affecting a lot of things like weather changes, less or heavy rains, and extreme heat in summer. After becoming an environmental specialist, I will ensure that each area has many trees to produce oxygen. This will heal the ozone layer and end air pollution.”

There is a proverb, ‘charity begins at home.’ Divya believes in this quote, and takes small steps at her level to make a difference. She says, “I have a mini garden in my home where I grow vegetables and flowers. On 5th June, we celebrated Earth day in our school. We planted a lot of trees near our school to get fresh oxygen. When I told about my aspirations to my parents and science teacher, they were very happy.”

Speaking more about her daily routine, she says, “At home, I help my mother with daily chores. In the evening, I go out to play for some time with my friends. After coming back, I sit down to study for a couple of hours. Then, I have dinner with my family and go to bed early. During free time, I love doing art and craft.”

Being a 12-year-old, Divya is quite mature and clear with her dreams. In order to fulfil them, she has to keep up her spirit, be energetic, and study with a complete focus in class. For that, Divya needs to eat healthy food which can complete the minimum required nutrition required for her physical and mental well-being. This is where the meals provided by Akshaya Patra come into the picture. Speaking of it, Divya says, “I enrolled in this school two years ago. That was the first time I had a meal at school. After that, I have never skipped lunch here. The food is warm, tasty, and nutritious. I even visited the kitchen last month with my classmates. It is a very clean and tidy place. Everyone was wearing hair caps, masks and gloves while cleaning or cooking food. Each day, we get different items. I love the food served at school by Akshaya Patra. I eagerly wait for the day when we get dal-rice and roti-sabzi. It is my favourite.”

Just like Divya, there are 2.1 million children benefiting from Akshaya Patra’s school feeding programme. This is an effort to implement PM POSHAN Abhiyaan in government schools across India to address classroom hunger. It aligns with the UN’s sustainable development goals: SDG-1 and SDG-4; eradicate hunger and provide quality education. The meals provided by Akshaya Patra under this programme ensure that children like Divya stay fit, study with focus, and work hard towards achieving their dreams