SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION: THEORY AND PRACTICE

REPORT ON THE FIELD VISIT TO AKSHAYA PATRA

FOUNDATION, BHADAJ, AHMEDABAD

SUBMITTED TO,

Mr. SAURABH ANAND

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY,

GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

SUBMITTED BY,

MRINMAY KUSHAL,

BATCH 2017-2022

REGISTRATION NUMBER: 17A088

 The Complete bsw family
1st years
2nd years
3rd years
Along with members of Akshaya patra and our very
own faculty members
INTRODUCTION TO AND ABOUT AKSHAYA PATRA
FOUNDATION

HISTORY

The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s history is a story of compassion Looking out of a window

one day in Mayapur, a village near Calcutta, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada saw a group of children fighting with street dogs over scraps of food. From this
simple, yet heart breaking incident, came the determination that: No one within a ten mile
radius of our centre should go hungry.

It is his inspiration which helped us to create The Akshaya Patra Foundation as it is today.

The history of the non-profit organisation came to realisation with a humble beginning in the
year 2000. The vision that “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of
hunger” was derived from the history of Akshaya Patra.

The operational history of this non-profit organisation began in June 2000. The Akshaya
Patra Foundation started the mid-day meal programme in Bangalore, Karnataka by providing
mid-day meals to 1500 children in five Government schools in the city. The first beneficiary
schools were chosen after detailed research by Venu Vadana Gopal Dasa, a full time
missionary of ISKCON Bangalore. Reminiscing Akshaya Patra’s history he says, “Once the
idea was conceptualised, I went to explore the surrounding areas in Bangalore and found that
the schools in the outskirts and rural areas were in maximum need of a mid-day meal
programme. I visited Government schools in areas like Peenya, Chikkabidarakalu and Makali
and was moved by the plight of the kids there.” He goes on to add, “We then approached
these schools and started serving the meals.”

The impact of this initiative was witnesses over a period of time with increased enrolment,
steady attendance and better concentration during class hours. A visible improvement in the
health of the children was also noticed. This was a major boost in the history of this non-
profit organisation.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s history was not an overnight journey. The initial days of
implementing the programme was not smooth sailing for the Foundation. Reiterating the
challenges faced, Venu Vadana Gopal Dasa says, “Our main concern was the lack of vessels
for rice and sambar, and a vehicle to transport the food. We had to hire transport vehicles
from outside and send food from The Akshaya Patra Foundation.” At this juncture,
Mohandas Pai and Abhay Jain wrote a fresh page in the history of this non-profit
organisation. Mohandas Pai took the initiative of donating the first vehicle to transport food
to the schools and Abhay Jain promised to get more donors to contribute for the further
expansion of the programme.

The overwhelming response from the schools brought to fore the need for the programme and
led us to increase our reach to more schools. Along with the support from donors, the
partnership with the Government under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was a turning point in
Akshaya Patra’s history. This development helped the non-profit to further improve and
increase its reach from 1,500 children to 1.6 million children, today.
 Mission &Vision

Mission: No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger

Vision: To feed 5 million children by 2020
The NGO’s mission and vision is a direct derivative of its history. The vision of The Akshaya
Patra Foundation clearly states the importance of food and education for a healthy and
educated tomorrow. Though the NGO is primarily focussed in implementing the mid-day
meal programme, it also places equal importance to education of the children.

The mid-day meal programme implemented by Akshaya Patra endeavours to solve two of the
critical United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN MDGs). MDG 1 is to End
Poverty and Hunger and MDG 2 is to achieve Universal Education. The vision of The
Akshaya Patra Foundation, “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of
hunger”, addresses these two crucial challenges of hunger and education.

Akshaya Patra wants to further extend the impact of this programme to many more children
and steadily tread towards achieving the charity’s mission of feeding 5 million children by
2020 and thereby move towards achieving the charity’s vision too. With the continued
support from the stakeholders, the Foundation is certain that it will be able to feed the
millions of children in the country and play a significant role in wiping out classroom hunger.

Milestone

Akshaya Patra milestones are rather significant for a journey of 16 years

The NGO’s mission and vision is a direct derivative of its history. The vision of The Akshaya
Patra Foundation clearly states the importance of food and education for a healthy and
educated tomorrow. Though the NGO is primarily focussed in implementing the mid-day
meal programme, it also places equal importance on the education of the children.
The mid-day meal programme implemented by Akshaya Patra endeavours to solve three of
the critical United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – No Poverty, Zero
Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, and Quality Education.

The vision of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, “No child in India shall be deprived of
education because of hunger,” addresses these four crucial challenges of hunger and
education.

Akshaya Patra wants to further extend the impact of this programme to many more children
and steadily tread towards achieving the charity’s mission of feeding 5 million children by
2020 and thereby move towards achieving the charity’s vision too. With the continued
support from the stakeholders, the Foundation is certain that it will be able to feed the
millions of children in the country and play a significant role in wiping out classroom hunger.
 A SMALL INSIGHT INTO HARE KRISHNA MANDIR,
BHADAJ

The Founder Acharya and spiritual master of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement, His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada instructed that temples must be the
centers of disseminating transcendental knowledge. It is the responsibility of the temples to
educate the people in spiritual science to give them practical opportunity to practice this
science. To demonstrate this he personally established 108 temples of Lord Krishna all over
the world.

WHAT MAKES THIS TEMPLE DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS?

HDG Srila Prabhupada always wanted Hare Krishna temples to be vibrant preaching centers,
with profound distribution of spiritual knowledge and prasadam. 
- Distribution of Knowledge: The vision behind the Hare Krishna Mandir is to bring about a
transformation in the people’s heart. Considering the present transformation in the ideologies,
lifestyle and trends of the Indian society, Hare Krishna Mandir has emerged as a modern
spiritual center to impart ancient wisdom given in our Vedic scriptures like Bhagavad-gita
and Srimad Bhagavatam. Various programs, seminars, training sessions, excursions, cultural
events, etc., are conducted to give people an enriching experience and make their lives
happier and better. These educational activities not only elevate the people spiritually but also
give them enormous material benefit by introducing them to a healthy, happy and stress-free
life. It also promotes various Indian traditional art forms like painting, dance, music, drama,
etc. by organizing regular events and fests. These programs provide a platform to the artistes
for not only showcasing their skills but also taking them to newer heights.  

- Distribution of Prasadam: The unique feature this temple is its “Akshaya Patra” program
through which free midday meals are served to students in Government schools of four cities
of Gujarat in partnership with The Government of Gujarat & India. This program provides
wholesome, nutritious meals to 4.5 Lakh children daily in 1518 government schools of
Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara and Surat. Situated in premises of Hare Krishna
Mandir, this state-of-the-art kitchen facility is the largest in India, with capacity to cook for 2
lakh children in just 5 hours. The kitchen features the first of its kind chapathi-making
machine in Gujarat which can roll out 60,000 chapathis in one hour. In addition to this the
temple has an in-house prasadam distribution program under which whoever visits the temple
is served free prasadam.

ACTIVITIES OF HARE KRISHNA MANDIR AT GLANCE:

 -Youth & Family Programs:

The Youth Programs employs highly interactive sessions handled by experienced faculties
who have graduated out of premier institutes and who have dedicated their lives as full time
missionaries to share the same joy, which they have experienced in their lives. A typical
program consists of Vedic wisdom being imparted, which is connected to the current world
realities. Solutions are provided to difficult problems that youth have to encounter in their
daily lives, such as how to manage stress, how to improve memory and concentration, how to
get rid of bad habits, how to excel in life, etc.

The temple also organizes satsang programs to family members at their residences which
includes discourse on Bhagavad Gita, Bhajans etc.

-Children Programs: 

Hare Krishna Movement, Ahmedabad, through its Culture and Education Services (CES)
strives to revive and promote our dwindling Vedic principles and values amongst the younger
generation. Round the year CES is engaged in organizing various events and training
programs to bring the young children closer to our glorious heritage. Some of the prominent
activities are:

-Krishna Heritage Fest: Its  an inter school competition for students from class 1 – 10.
Students contest in cultural events like Classical dance, folk dance, classical singing, Vedic
quiz, Pauranic costume, Pauranic dramas, shloka reciting, painting and sketching, rangoli,
etc. The fest is conducted twice in a year in the months of February and September.

-Culture Camps (Summer Vacation Camps): These camps are a lively fusion of spiritual
education and hobby classes for the children. Spanning over three weeks these camps are
aimed towards educating young children in principles of Bhagavad-gita, meditation, moral
stories from Vedic scriptures, etc. Simultaneously the children pursue a hobby module of
their choice like drawing, glass painting, classical music, classical dance, folk dance, drama,
musical instruments, etc. These camps are conducted during the summer vacations.

-Krishna Contest: A written test is conducted for school children of class 5-8 on Vedic
stories.

 
OTHER FEATURES OF THE TEMPLE

-Youth Training Centre:

Auditorium halls for conducting seminars, classes, training sessions, etc. for the youth. The
youth are taught in practical Vedic principles given in Bhagavad-gita and other scriptures and
also trained to inculcate those in their daily lives, thus, enriching their overall personality and
making them better human beings. These halls are equipped with all the necessary modern
facilities like digital display systems, multimedia, audio visual systems, etc. 

-Samskar Kendra:

Hare Krishna Mandir is well known for its meticulous standards and practices in the worship
of the Deities, which is its chief activity. In addition to the Deity worship, the temple is the
center of preserving and promoting various Vedic rituals and traditions. Samskar Kendra is a
ceremonial hall where rituals like annaprashan, nama-karan, upanayan, marriage etc. are
performed.

-Garden:

The temple has constructed a beautiful garden with lush green lawn and various flower
bearing plants, wherein festivals are regularly observed and the flowers picked from the
garden are offered in Lord’s service.

-Gaushala:

In the worship of Lord Sri Krishna, cow protection has a special significance. The Mandir
tends to several cows and calves of Gir breed, which is native to Gujarat state. The milk from
these cows is used in the service of Deities.

-Temple Pond:
Named as “Madhav Kund”, it is the festival pond for Their Lordships, in which the Deities
are offered boat rides and abhishekam during special festivals. Elegant fountains and lotus
flowers beautify the pond.

MY EXPERIENCE OF THE VISIT

The date was 9th of September, 2017 when our BSW family of 1 st years, 2nd years and 3rd
years visited the Akshaya Patra Foundation vicinity. It was early in the morning at around 7
am that we left the GNLU campus. We were greeted first and foremost by a swarm of
cheerful children of varying ages enjoying themselves and cleaning the campus of their
schools with a huge amount of enthusiasm, which was actually a lesson to learn for us at this
age of late teens and early twenties. Then our team was joined by an official of the Akshaya
Patra foundation who briefed us about the schools and we had an interactive session with the
kids of the two schools. Following this, the children were served the meals that came from
Akshaya Patra foundation and it was such soothing sight to watch the children have their
food. Following this, we were taken to a temple by Hare Krishna Mission. It was such a
serene experience. The all white interiors and the elegance of the temple instilled a feeling of
self satisfaction and led to peaceful intuition for the mind. This was followed by lunch which
was brought from the Akshaya Patra kitchen itself. To be completely honest, that was one of
the tastiest and most well prepared food I had ever tasted in my life. The chapattis that were
consumed felt like polished pieces of silk clothing. The rice was crisp and symmetrical at
another level. After this, came the most significant part of the field visit, our entry into the
vertical kitchen of Akshaya Patra Foundation. First of all, all of us were made to wear head
caps so that not even a single strand of our hair can come between the wonderful work that
was being done by them. First, we saw the roti making machine and seeing the rotis come out
from paste to full blown polished rotis was such a soothing sight to watch. Then, we were
taken to the upper floors. As this kitchen was of a vertical type, it is important to note that
food always travelled from top to bottom with final processing at the ground level, and all
movement happened only with force of gravity. Everything was clean and no human hands
were used at the final stages meaning that any sort of contamination was not at all possible.
Our guide explained everything to us in a very calm and detailed manner and we were given
time at every machine to properly look at it from the inside and outside. Ofcourse, all this
was not very new for me as I had visited the Akshaya Patra kitchen at Guwahati but yet, I
took all the liberty and explored all machines to the fullest. Realising that all these
sophisticated arrangements have been made only to feed hungry children made me glee from
inside. After, the tour was over, we all had a group picture and then we all bought ourselves
refreshments from the temple refreshment shop as the day was extremely hot. In the end, we
all crawled back into bus and came back. But, this visit shall always remain a part of our
memories.