subject: CISCO Employees at Akshaya Patra Kitchen [print this page] CISCO Employees at Akshaya Patra Kitchen CISCO Employees at Akshaya Patra Kitchen
The Akshaya Patra Kitchen in Vasanthapura had a lot of new faces last week. It was on December 8th, that a group of Volunteers working for CISCO offered to take part in the mid-day meal program.
The mid-day meal program provides lunch to underprivileged children in Government and Government aided schools across the country. What started as a small project feeding 1500 children in Bangalore has taken mammoth shape today feeding more than 1.2 million children. And it does not stop with a day; it is an everyday affair directly impacting more than a million school children and in turns their families.
A simple building on a small hillock at Vasanthapura belies ten years of working towards a better India. The drive up the hill, paved with stones that make for a rough road, ends at a nondescript glass door. In the backdrop stands a formidable 270 ton silo, a silent testament to the work at hand, a clue to what lies inside the structure. On the 2nd floor of this building, a group of around 30 sit with concentrated focus to be a part of a project that has been a decade in the making.
Like many corporate who eagerly extend their helping hand to feed the Children, CISCO and Akshaya Patra joined hands once again together to take up this novel task. For more than 5 hours on a cool Wednesday, the CISCO employees took part in a few of the preparations that go into making those meals. On a daily basis, that includes everything from cutting between 5-6 tons of vegetables and cooking tons of rice and dal to grating nearly 2000 fresh coconuts.
Closely observing the activities taking place stands Chandrakanth Bhandarkar, in charge of hygiene on the floor. He explains how all vegetables are washed in 50 parts per million chlorine water and then thoroughly rinsed in plain water. Sectioning those vegetables into smaller pieces and chopping them in vegetable cutters are the volunteers from CISCO.
The complexities of the entire operations are divided into various departments, each one working in synchrony with the other to prepare meals on time: maintenance, quality, distribution, purchase, housekeeping, accounts and others. This harmony of activity is precisely what impressed the CISCO employees most.
"It was a wonderful experience," said Deepa, a CISCO employee as their volunteering came to an end.
The mid-day meal program, though a simple concept in itself, has brought about great change in India. It has been able to address many of the immediate and long term challenges faced by the nation.
More Details: http://www.akshayapatra.org/
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