The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been adding wings to the dreams of talented children from Government and Government-aided schools with mid-day meals (MDM) for 22 years now. Today, many of the NGO’s beneficiaries have degrees from recognised universities and are working at renowned organisations globally. Some have become donors themselves in return for the generous support they received from people worldwide.
Geetha L Olekar is one of the NGO’s beneficiaries who received school lunch every day under the Indian Government’s Mid-Day Meal Programme (MDM Programme), now called the PM Poshan Abhiyaan. She hails from Amruthahalli in Bengaluru and currently works as an Associate Implementation Engineer at Q2 Software.
Today, she has done her parents proud who live a more secure life because of their two bright daughters.
Geetha’s inspiring story of perseverance and accomplishment
“Geetha showed leadership qualities since the very beginning. I taught her Mathematics till the 10th grade. I observed that she was talented and took on all the challenges that came her way extremely well. She kept saying that she wanted to achieve great things in life. She passed from 8th to 9th grade and from 9th to 10th grade with flying colours,” says Ashmat, Geetha’s Mathematics and English teacher.
“I feel proud of Geetha. We are grateful for having a supportive daughter like her. Both our daughters grew up to become our support system in our old age. They are our shelter, our walking canes. They also help other aged individuals like us. Our life has become peaceful because of them,” says Lakshman Olekar, Geetha’s father and an ex-military serviceman.
“She put in a lot of hard work and studied well. She saw my struggles and decided to give her best. She always wanted me not to worry about her. She worked hard and I will remember that for life. She ate food in school while growing up. This provision from the NGO proved very helpful for us. We are now able to heave a sigh of relief as she has earned a good job. She is our everything today. She works extremely hard even today,” says Hemavathi Olekar, Geetha’s mother and a tailor.
“The most important people I will never forget are my teachers. If they were not supportive, I definitely could not have reached this stage in my life. I am grateful for them. Secondly, we could eat well because of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. They provided food for us every day. Our teachers always instructed us not to waste any vegetables or even a single morsel of food on our plates. They even gave us extra servings sometimes. I always wanted to become an engineer and I strived for it every day but my teachers’ guidance fuelled my efforts,” says Geetha, who believes that school is the foundation that every child must get. She says that children will be able to grow further and overcome challenges only if their foundation built at school is strong.
“I remember seeing the elated faces of all my classmates when the NGO came to our school and said that they will provide lunch for us every day. We had not eaten such delicious food, even at home. I still miss my school lunch. Our only filling meals for the day were what we got in our school,” adds Geetha.
However, Geetha’s memories of Akshaya Patra do not end with mid-day meals.
“One day, The Akshaya Patra Foundation called me and asked what I planned on doing further. I told them about my wish to pursue engineering and that I hoped to take up science for higher secondary education. I also told them which college I was aiming at. They asked me about the fees and I gave them the estimate. They helped me with the entire fee amount for two years,” continues Geetha, eyes wet with tears.
Today, she expresses her wish to study much further. She is passionate about the new technologies emerging every day and aspires to contribute to them. She dreams to join the ISRO one day and contribute to her country’s progress.
“My efforts are on!” says a geared-up Geetha, the young engineer who is sure that her life has just begun with bigger milestones waiting to be conquered.
Donate for school meals and avail 80G deductions
Today, millions of talented and skilled children in India can accomplish their goals like Geetha with a little help from generous donors.
Akshaya Patra is the implementing partner of the Government’s PM Poshan Abhiyaan, serving school meals to over 2 million children from 66 locations across India. Your contribution will help the NGO expand its reach further while you save 50% on taxes.
Contribute towards mid-day meals and bring children from low-income families to school every day!
Comments