Sponsor mid day meals to poor rural children by Milaan Be The Change

Sponsor mid day meals to poor rural children

Thank you!

This program is fully funded because of donors like you.

Impact

Every monthly donation helps more kids like Savitri get midday meals

Savitri had to drop out of school after 8th grade because her family could not afford to send her to school. Due to dire poverty, they could now make ends meet and so her childhood was reduced to doing household chores.

The Swarachna Learning and Resource Centre met and convinced her parents to send her back to school. Savitri was re-enrolled in a school. Due to her family's condition, she was enrolled in the mid-day meal program. With regular nutrition, she began to get stronger. She is a good at studies and a good singer.

She is always amongst the top five students in her class and loves to participate in sports. Every child deserves a healthy meal, you can help children from going hungry.

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About The Program

What the beneficiary gets
Nutrition
What you get
Tax Exemption
Periodic Reports
Program Description

This program is done in 13 villages in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. During a school health check-up, it was noticed that 95% of the children were malnourished.Most of the children belonged to poor Dalit families and carried leftovers for lunch which is normally a chapatti with pickle or sugar.

No education is possible on a hungry stomach and hence a mid-day meal program was introduced. This program provides the children studying at the Swarachna Learning and Resource Centre a complete meal as part of their routine during the school day. The center prepares a nutritionally balanced meal for over 300 children on all working days in a year. The kitchen and other resources required for preparing the meal are provided by the center. Mothers of the students are employed to cook which ensures the quality of the meal.

Donate to this program and help two children get access to a mid-day meal.

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About The NGO

Milaan Be The Change
Milaan Be The Change Logo
Milaan Be The Change

Milaan Foundation is a non-profit, social development organization, which envisions an inclusive and equal world, where every girl has the knowledge, skills, and social environment to pursue her dreams and explore her full potential. Over the last 13 years, Milaan has worked with more than 40,000 children and young people and advocated for safer and more inclusive spaces for them at various state and national platforms.

By 2030, Milaan will empower 10 million girls across India and build a movement of Girl Leaders with a thriving ecosystem of change-makers and networks.

Milaan Foundation is a registered charitable organization as Milaan - Be the Change (NGO) with the Registrar of Societies, New Delhi under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 as on 18th October 2007. The organization is also registered under 12A, 80G under Income Act Tax 1961 and is eligible to receive foreign donations under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

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founders
Founded in 1991
NGO Leadership

Dhirendra Pratap Singh

areas of operation
Area of Operation
Area of Operation

Girl Child | education

location of work
Location of Work
Location of Work

Uttar Pradesh

awards
Awards And Recognitions
Awards And Recognitions

2015: Late Justice Mr. N L Abhyankar Award

last audited
Last Audited
Periodic Compliance Checks by GiveIndia

Renewals FY 19-20

Program Updates

Program Updates

22 September, 2023

An update on the program you are supporting

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Total number of beneficiaries impacted was 90 in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh with 100% being females


Challenges faced and next steps

Overall increase in BMI of hostel girls was observed. Two girls from the school Kabaddi team were selected to become a part of the district Kabaddi team in September. All the students of Swarachna School received health insurance in November. Dr Sahil Mittal from On-Surity addressed students and parents on the finer points of the health and wellness plan. Swarachna School�team finished 3rd in the District Level Badminton Tournament 2022-23, held in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh Regular Yoga sessions for hostel girls. A special assembly on Physical Education is organised every Wednesday.


Stories from the ground

Anya's passion for literature was sparked at a young age when she discovered the magic of books. She spent countless hours lost in the pages of novels, captivated by the characters and stories that came to life on the page. As she grew older, Anya knew that she wanted to pursue her love for literature and become a teacher, sharing her passion for reading with others. However, Anya's dream of pursuing higher education was not an easy one to achieve. Her father is a farmer, and her mother takes care of the household chores, leaving little money for education. And this situation was further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, once Milaan identified her and provided her with a safe space to stay in Swarachna Hostel, she has been able to focus on her studies and work towards her dreams. She receives free-of-cost residential facilities and meals, which have helped her grow and thrive. Her BMI has improved and she even actively participates in extracurricular activities.


20 December, 2022

Building Back a Better Tomorrow with New Academic Session

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Swarachna School offers holistic child development along with quality education to children from low-income communities. The mid-day meal program serves nutritious food to children ensuring they have the right nutrition towards their overall development. Mid-day meal has helped children have better learning outcomes by increasing their concentration in class and active participation. The school offers a different menu every day and meals are cooked by women who hail from single women-led households. The meals are cooked fresh and served hot to the students during break time. It also builds a sense of community and sharing as students sit together and eat their meals. The mid-day meal support women from local villages in earning a livelihood for their families and living a life with dignity.

The key activities undertaken by the school were:

Continuation of remedial classes: Remedial classes have helped students overcome the learning gap made by the pandemic. The school has continued the remedial classes to strengthen basics, especially for English, Maths and Science. This has helped the confidence level of students and has had a positive effect on their learning outcomes. The school offers remedial classes after the class schedule is over for the day.

Investing in extracurricular activities: The school created a space for children to hone their skills and conducted several competitions such as poetry, arts, debate and sports. By investing in extracurricular activities students are able to find a space to grow their skills and engage in school activities beyond traditional education.

Exploring creative learning: smart classes, storytelling etc have been leveraged this year to increase learning and retention outcomes, this also makes learning simplified and helps our students and teachers create interactive classroom learning. Participatory methods and tools are being leveraged to increase participation in class and ensure every child is given attention. The new teaching methods have brought freshness to classroom teaching and are being thoroughly enjoyed by both students and teachers.

Starting a new academic session: The school started a new academic session and welcome students to a new school year. Having continuous access to school after school closures due to the pandemic has filled students with excitement. We have also improved attendance levels at school and invested in working with parents to ensure our students get a supportive environment at home.

Republic day celebration: The school celebrated Republic Day with flag hosting and activities such as dance, poetry etc. Children enjoyed their day at school celebrating and playing with their peers and enjoying sweets on the occasion of Republic Day.

Despite the uncertainties of the pandemic, the school has delivered a 100% pass result for grades 10th and 12th for the 8th consecutive year.


Challenges faced and next steps

A continued challenge has been low learning outcomes due to the pandemic, towards this we have created spaces for remedial classes, started smart classes and inculcated creative teaching methods. The school will invest in more smart classes as it has helped both teachers and students. remedial classes will be continued as an option for students who continue to struggle to close the learning gap. The teachers are also helping students with ways to cope and ensure they are able to succeed in the new academic session.


Stories from the ground

Ajay* has been a student of the school for the last five years, when Ajay* joined the school he was malnourished and had a fairly low concentration level in class. Ajay* belongs to a socially and economically backward community, where family poverty does not allow him three meals a day. Lack of a nutritious diet also meant Ajay* had poor development and struggled to participate in his class. After joining Swarachna School Ajay* could access quality education, sports and nutritious mid-day meal that helped him towards holistic child development. Currently, Ajay* is studying in grade 8th and has been regular to school, he has shown improvement in his grades over the years and has remained consistent in his academics. Most importantly, Ajay* has continued to focus on sports and picked up a fondness towards running and playing football. The school nurtured his newfound interest in sports and invested in building his capacity. Ajay* participated in a district-level competition and secured the first position in 200 metres race. He not only brought glory to school but made his parents proud. At Swarachna School we continue to nurture our students beyond traditional education giving them spaces to explore their interests and harness their potential towards a better tomorrow.

*name changed to protect the privacy of the student


19 July, 2022

Ensuring nutritious mid day meals to students

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

In the past few months, the school has undertaken construction of a large kitchen and dining space to serve its growing population of students. The kitchen will also cater to the needs of girls in Milaan’s free of cost residential hotel that currently accommodates 80 girls. We also inaugurated a Nutripatshla which is a dedicated kitchen garden for the school to grow its own food. The kitchen garden provides a space for our students to spend time in the open and nurture it with their efforts. The dining space is being designed with tables and benches along with water coolers and wash basins for our students. Open and spacious dining space helps our students to consume their meals comfortably and inculcate table etiquette. We have also increased the number of cooks in the kitchen to cater to 5 meals served to hostel girls. 100% of girls in her hostel hail from poor households. This is why we are committed to investing in their health as much as their education. Poor nutrition can lead to low learning level, and lack of concentration. An adequate well-balanced diet is crucial for child survival, health and development. Well-nourished children are more likely to be healthy, productive and ready to learn. We work to ensure that all children in the school are well nourished and receive optimal nutrition to promote their growth and development potential.


Challenges faced and next steps

In 2021, our school experienced an increase in school enrollments as more in need children with the will to be educated joined our school. Milaan also started a free of cost residential hostel for girls impacted by COVID-19 thus further increasing the enrollments. COVID-19 has impacted donations towards our school and the growing needs of school has become a challenge. To overcome this, Milaan started ‘Rise For Her’ initiative to build a community of monthly donors who are committed to advancing girls' education. In the next 6 months, the school will focus all its efforts to increase the learning level of our students by providing them with support through remedial classes. Our plan is to also increase extra curricular activities especially sports development to ensure holistic development for our students.


Stories from the ground

15 year’s old Vandhana’s life got adversely affected by the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her father lost his livelihood and the whole family was unable to ascertain even a single day’s meal. Her father also got sick during covid & her younger brother had to look after the whole family of 8 members. Vandhana’s brother found it hard to provide for a family of 8 members and the first cut back to the household expenses was Vandana’s education. Vandhana had to drop out of school and stop her education. Milaan foundation identified Vandhana’s critical situation & helped her apply to the free of cost hostel facility wherein she can continue her school studies. Vandhana is currently continuing her secondary education and is doing well in her studies. She says she feels at home at the Milaan hostel facility and is happy to not have her education and upkeep burden her family. Vandhana aspires to continue her education and become a designer when she finishes school.


28 September, 2021

Educating next generation learners

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

The school is working with 400+ children from Sidhauli block in Sitapur village. The school on the 26th of January celebrated Republic Day with special sweet boxes for students. With many homes facing hunger crises in surrounding villages where our students reside, we conducted a ration distribution to support needy families. The meals at school are carefully prepared with a focus on fulfilling their nutritional needs and ensure they are served hot. The school has also invested in building a new kitchen to cater to the needs of the school and provide the cooks with better facilities.


Challenges faced and next steps

For the next 6 months, the school will focus on providing meals and introducing special sports programs to focus on the overall development of students. We will further invest in adding more cooks and upgrading equipment in the kitchen to support the mid-day meals as well as function it as a full-time kitchen for the girls' residential hostel starting in September.


Stories from the ground

Impact story from the ground: Saraswati is a mid-day meal cook at Swarachna school and a single mother. She is the sole earning member of her family. Due to COVID-19 many of the houses in her village were suffering from deepening poverty leading to the hunger crisis. Despite her own problems, Saraswati identified in-need families of food and helped them procure ration kits from Milaan. Her efforts and compassion towards others in her community led to ensuring that her community has food on the table especially for their children.


23 March, 2021

Fighting the odds of COVID-19

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COVID-19 has led to the total disruption of education for children in marganilised communities. To ensure that our students do not lag behind, our teachers devised several mechanisms to enable technology and continuous learning for the students. Each child was reached out to understand the access to phone and internet. We started online classes and worked alongside parents to ensure students have access to phones. Our teachers created several visuals and audio messages were sent leveraging WhatsApp. It was critical to also ensure their mental well being. Class teachers maintained a one to one engagement via phone to provide students with a safe space to converse and share their problems. 


Milaan’s Swarachna School is situated in a remote and rural village where more than 80% of the population is under the poverty line. The pandemic has further pushed families into a deepening poverty pit. To respond to the hunger crisis in the communities and in the families of our students, our teachers led a ration distribution to ensure our students and their families have food on the table to survive the lockdown. Amid the pandemic, we received the news of results for grades 10th and 12th. We’re extremely happy to share that with your support our students for the FIFTH consecutive year have delivered a 100% pass result in classes 9th and 12th. 


During the month of October, under the government guidelines, we have opened the school for classes 9th to 12th and resumed regular classes. We’re ensuring social distancing in classrooms and taking precautionary measures. In 2019, Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for nearly 15% of all registered crimes against women in India. To tackle this harsh reality we have launched Mission Shakti to spread awareness and train girls to be safe and self-reliant.



5 July, 2020

Biding Adieu to class XII students

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Biding Adieu to class XII students




Milaan school celebrated class 12th farewell for students graduating this year. The school students and staff members came together to put a cultural show, activities, games as well as speeches to make it a memorable event, many Class 12th students also gave a speech and participated in the event. Class 10th and 11th students were actively involved in preparations for the farewell. Enthusiastic and eager participation was seen by all students. Teachers also actively participated to bid farewell to students. It was an emotional moment for everyone at school at the same time it was a proud moment for the school staff as most of these students have been in the school since the very beginning. The majority of these students are first-generation learners and only ones to complete schooling in their families. The school principal also reported that the school will continue to support the students with career guidance and career choice to ensure they secure admissions in colleges and place themselves on the path to employability. 



22 July, 2019

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Program Update


In a remote, rural village called Kaintain in Sitapur District, Uttar Pradesh lies the heart of Milaan – The Swarachna School. Established in 2007 Swarachna is a creation of the collaborative efforts of the local community and Milaan. It was the first and only Senior Secondary School in the region, catering to 15 villages.
Now with 450 students and 100% pass percentage in both grade 10th and 12th from last 5 consecutive years, the school is safe space for children to unleash their creativity, access various mediums for exposure and encourage dialogue and discussion. The mid-day meal was started to provided wholesome meal to children.


We follow a vegetarian menu. Every Monday we serve Rice, Dal & Vegetables. Tuesday we serve Rice & Vegetables. Wednesday we serve Chola-Rice. Thursday we serve Mix Dal and Rice. Friday we serve Tehri (rice cooked with soybeans chunks and vegetables) and salad. Saturday we serve Poori-Sabji which is a big hit.


Girl Icons participated in 6 day residential leadership training in Uttar Pradesh and Assam between December 2018 to January 2019. The curriculum covered goals and aspirations, education, rights and laws, gender and sex, communication and building confidence. A baseline was conducted to capture the knowledge level of girls.


In partnership with the Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab program and Malala Fund the virtual reality film 'GIRL ICON' featuring Girl Icon Rani was screened at SXSW film festival at Austin, Tribeca film festival in New York and Beijing International film festival.


Milaan planned, designed and facilitated the 3 part session at Dasra Philanthropy Week for 14 youth delegates from of 6 non-profit organizations – CINI, C3, Quest Alliance, SNEHA, Apnalaya and Milaan.


In June, Milaan will organize second training and will host an alumnae meet in Bhopal.


Story from the field


For our Hero Story we would like to introduce you to Archana Singh from Kantain village in Sidhauli block, Uttar Pradesh. Archana came to work at Swarachna school 7 years ago when she was only 33 years old. Today at 40 years old, she is one of the faces behind our mid-day meal program. Archana supports her family and is the only earning member of the family. Her husband is currently not employed. She has one daughter who is a class 8 student at Swarachna school. Archana shares that she loves to eat and that is why she enjoys her current role as part of the mid-day meal program. "I love working with kids and feeding others. It makes me happy," shares Archana. She shyly shares that she doesn't enjoy going out or taking holidays. Her love for food and feeding doesn't give her much time to do other things.


What is the expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19?450
What is the number of beneficiaries/ benefits provided in this program, Year-To-Date450
Village/City/State where project is locatedKantain, Uttar Pradesh
Total Budget for the project for FY18-19675000
Total Expenses for the project YTD677708

30 October, 2018

Milaan Be The Change's Update

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Program Update


'Swarachna Learning and Resource Centre', besides providing education, acts as a creative learning space for the children, introducing them to the larger world, by means of books, magazines, critically selected movies as well as documentaries and then encourages discussions, debates and exploration of these new ideas. In 2017, Swarachna School delivered 100% pass result in both 10th and 12th Grade.


By April 2019, we will start the first batch of 40 girls selected through an entrance exams conducted in KGBV Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. By April 2022, Milaan will expand the Swarachna School and aims to work with 1000 children from current strength of 406 children. We also aim at developing a residential facility for 200 academically high performing girls from low-income communities to pursue their secondary and senior secondary education (Grade 9th to 12th).


Story from the field


One of our students Shikha Yadav belongs to a poor Dalit family. She is studying in 5th standard and she enjoys dancing. Her family income is INR 40,000 per annum. She has a keen interest in craft work, especially coloring books. It was observed by her class teacher that she did not carry lunch to school which affected her growth and performance. After a while she lacked the motivation to remain focused. During a regular school health check up, it was noticed that Shikha like majority of children was malnourished. With the introduction of mid day meal program at the centre and regular nutrition, Shikha started to become stronger and her grades improved. She is now always amongst the top five students in her class and loves to participate in Art competitions. Every Monday we serve Rice, Dal and Vegetables; Tuesday we serve Rice and Vegetables; Wednesday we serve Chola-Rice; Thursday we serve Mix Dal and Rice; Friday we serve Tehri (rice cooked with soyabean chunks and vegetables) and salad and Saturday we serve Poori-Sabji which is her favorite. We as an organisation believe every child deserves a healthy meal. With your continued support, our children will grow healthier every day.


Expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19500
Number of beneficiaries/ benefits provided in this program this year406

28 February, 2018

New facilities and programs conducted in the Swarachna School

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The Swarachna School by Milaan operates in a remote and a rural village named Kaintain in Sitapur, UP where education and the needs of 400+ children are taken care of.


The Mid-day Meal Program has made a significant impact on the students. It has not only increased the attendance of the students but also to their performance. The incentive of a nutritious and tasty meal brings back the students to school on a daily basis leading to improvement in their learning skills and levels with a consistent attendance.


Computer labs, a library, and an innovation lab have been built to provide a platform to disadvantaged children and youth to develop their abilities, skills and to explore their capabilities. In the previous exams, 60 % students from class 10th and 60% students from class 12th passed with distinction.


The school celebrated the Annual sports day with exemplary participation by students showcasing the spirit of sportsmanship with healthy competitions covering a wide range of sports like cricket, volleyball, badminton and Kabbadi.



A program was initiated for adolescent girls to create awareness and understanding of menstrual hygiene. The initiative also understands and enables the interpersonal, societal and environmental factors to empower adolescent girls.



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