‘The only work a child should do is homework.’ On the surface an easy concept, but one that is often moved to the backburner by low income families in favour of making a little extra money and feeding a few more bellies at home.
It seems a simple choice to rail against parents who refuse to send their children to school, and instead employ them in their trade, denying them the carefree life that is every child’s right. But the fact of the matter is that there are two sides to every story. Although poverty rates in India have declined to a record 22 per cent in 2011-12, India still has an estimated poor of 269.3 million, with 216.5 million residing in rural India. India is also estimated to have one third of the world’s poor.
As the middle class elite, we are often in a position to pass judgment on ‘those abusive parents’ who pull their children out of school and lead them to a life of low income occupations and poverty. Yet 269.3 million people are living with less than rupees 32 per day, the official poverty line for urban India. These people are mothers who love their children, fathers who want to see their offspring succeed, grandparents who dream of a better life generations down, children who still have hope for the future, and a society that wants to rise.
Given a choice, every strata of this society would leap at a chance to claw their way out of the poverty and desolation they live in. This is why it is so important to understand the nature of the problem and treat its causes and not just its symptoms, which is what The Akshaya Patra Foundation has managed to do.
By providing a means to alleviate the burden of feeding an extra mouth at home through their mid-day meal schemes, the government and NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation have devised a practical method to increase the disposable income in these households, as well as help put children on a path to sustained education that will one day lead their families out of a cycle of debt and poverty.
By tackling the very real problem that there are just too many mouths to feed and not enough money, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has managed to scratch beneath the surface of need and desperation and find a community of caring Indians, filled with love for their children and family, and burning with aspiration and ambition for a brighter future.
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