Originally from Raichur, Sophia has resided in Bangalore for the last six years having migrated to earn a better living. She is the mother of two boys, the older in Class 1 and the younger is two-years-old.  Prior to the birth of her youngest, Sophia was a brick layer earning a daily wage, because of a cesarean birth and the complications that followed, she gave up her job, leaving her husband the only breadwinner in the family. 

Unfortunately, with the lockdown, her husband, a tractor driver for BBMP, lost his job. She says, “Our rent is due from past two months, which is ₹1,500. We have two acres of agricultural land in our hometown. We have given it for rent and receive ₹10,000 per year. We have very little money remaining of it and don’t know what will happen when it is exhausted. We are managing with rations provided by our local authority. Also, as we do not have any facility for online classes, the school provided old books, so that our child can study until the school re-opens. This Happiness Kit provided will help us a lot. I thank you all for the support.”’

In a recent survey conducted by The Akshaya Patra Foundation among parents, teachers and children of these schools, 96% of families revealed loss of livelihoods, while most families claimed a two-third reduction in daily intake of food.

To support these government school children and their families, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has rolled out the Happiness Bag programme across the country. Through this programme, a Happiness Bag containing dry rations, educational material, and hygiene products for children, including sanitary packs for girl children, are distributed to the families to ensure the continued nutrition and education of these children until schools open.