Focus On The Holistic Growth Of Children
Through the Akshaya Patra Foundation, CEO Shridhar Venkat focuses on the holistic development of children to provide a positive environment by making infrastructural changes and educational interventions.
“Children should not have to choose between food and education; they should have both. With the vision that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger, we started Akshaya Patra back in 2000,” says Venkat.
The foundation aims at eliminating malnutrition and providing the right to education for socio-economically disadvantaged children. With its partnership with central and various state governments, the foundation has grown from serving just 1,500 children in five schools in 2000 to serving 1.8 million children.
With a working experience of over 25 years, in Akshaya Patra, Venkat brings strong people management and organisational skills. It is necessary to combine the missionary spirit and professionalism to deliver value, according to him.
"Sometimes we just need to keep things simple. When the employees are happy, they perform better, and when they perform better, it translates into better performance by the organisation. Simple actions such as a periodic survey, open-door policy or suggestion boxes demonstrate to the employees that the organisation is listening and cares about their opinion. In the long run, these simple actions drive employee engagement and boost satisfaction," he says.
About 17 years ago, Venkat left his corporate job in the pursuit of the existential purpose of life. He believes that working in Akshaya Patra to serve the children of our country has helped him in his pursuit. For him, the entire experience has been immensely satisfying.
"Leading a life of values brings you immense power and can be truly transformative. Respect, for instance, is one such value. We should respect other people’s rights, viewpoints and opinions, and treat each other with politeness and empathy despite differences. We should seek feedback while leading with trust and respect for there is always scope for improvement. It is my firm belief that we should strive toward excellence every day. Leading a life of values drives my pursuit," he says.
Venkat believes that government programmes play a crucial role in bringing children to school. In the long run, we seek to establish stronger systems by leveraging partnerships and technology to serve children and communities more efficiently, he adds.
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