By Prakiti Adhikari

Dhading, Dec. 28: The happiness of Thakre Rural Municipality school students knows no bounds whenever they see delivery men bringing meals for them at their own schools. They shout cheerfully as soon as they see delivery men carrying packets of food. Owing to a Good Samaritan organisation, which has been running a restaurant for providing free meals, the needy students have benefitted a lot. The distribution of free food is so effective that the dropout rate in many of municipality schools has gone down considerably.
The story of the establishment of the restaurant had begun in 2009 when an organisation started constructing a building at Damechaur of Thakre Rural Municipality, Dhading with an objective of distributing free foods for the children of surrounding schools.
The locals had then suspected whether the organisation was going to introduce the plan with a hidden interest of advertising certain religion. However, the rumor proved wrong after the organisation started working selflessly, Kiran Man Bal, ward chair of Thaha Municipality-11, said.
Everyone can see a hoarding board of the restaurant, Janabhojanalaya, along the Tribhuvan Highway immediately after getting past Naubise.
This Janabhojanalaya has been providing lunch to about 500 students of nearby schools and distributing tiffin to about 1500 students of surrounding six schools everyday free of cost. The Prem Rawat Foundation and Prem Sagar Foundation Nepal have been providing foods to schools’ students under Nutritious Food Campaign. The programme had begun 11 years ago.
The foundation had selected the locality because majority of guardians at the area are economically poor and they are from the Tamang community. Earlier, many children were out of schools due to poverty which is no more a problem, especially after the Janabhojanalaya started distributing free foods.
“Now, children have become healthy and their physical and academic activities are improving. Children dropout rate has also decreased dramatically”, chairman Bal added.
The guardians have felt a sigh of relief as they are not compelled to cook rice for their children in morning because Tamang community guardians mainly go to their farms to work from 6 am to 12 am, Sunita Jimba, a local said.
Jimba’s husband is in Kathmandu for work and she has been taking care of her daughter. She said, “My elder daughter is studying in grade six and I feel relief as she takes her lunch at Janabhojanalaya. The ratio of children suffering from malnutrition and other illness has significantly decreased over the years, Jimba said.
The Janabhojanalaya has been offering snacks for the students who are not taking lunch there. It has been delivering the snacks to schools through porters because the schools are located at distances of three hours walk from the Janabhojanalaya. “Mahankal Secondary School Liti lies at a distance of three hours walk from the Janabhojanalaya. Students shout happily every day while as soon as delivery men reach the school carrying tiffin for them,” Rabi Prasad Poudel, teacher of the school said.
Many schools, including Bagheshwori Secondary School of Naukhande, Mahakali Secondary School of Bahuthana, Liti Mahakali Secondary School, Ganesh Primary School, Salampur, Tistung Deurali Nepal Chamber Primary School and Tistung Deurali Primary School, Basantadanda, Aadarsha Secondary School, Damechaur, Shivasankar Basic School, Damechaur, Mahankaal Secondary School, Bahunthan and Kalika Secondary School, Hapsechaur are benefited from the Janabhojanalaya’s distribution of free meal and snack.
Besides students, the Janabhojanalaya has been offering the meals to senior citizens aged above 60 years. It has been bearing the cost of foods from donors’ support. Bhola Raut, manager of the foundation, said many people and organisations have been supporting to feed food the children on the occasion of their birthday, marriage ceremony, annual day and funeral of their guardians and in other functions.
Due to such support, meals for 170
days in a year are managed. For the remaining days, meals and snacks are managed by the foundation. If anyone wants to feed children for a day, they have to donate Rs. 25,000, Raut said.
The cost of per plate lunch is Rs. 50 and snack is Rs. 25, Raut informed. Janabhojanalaya has been managed by 20 volunteers.