What she sees every morning
H. N. Jayalakshmamma has been Headmistress of the Government Higher Primary School in Madikere, a rural town in Karnataka, for long enough to know the signs. A child who arrives distracted, slow to settle, slow to respond. In a rural area where many students leave home without breakfast, hunger in the classroom is not an abstraction, it is something she sees in their eyes before the first lesson begins.
A small cup, a big difference
That changed when Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust introduced Sai Sure Ragi Malt to the school. The nutritious finger millet drink, mixed with milk and served each morning by the school cooks, quickly became something the children looked forward to. In Jayalakshmamma’s own words:
“The ragi malt is very tasty, and the children happily consume it every day. The students enjoy it very much and consume it with happiness and enthusiasm.”
The difference, she says, has been felt far beyond mealtimes. “This initiative has contributed positively to the children’s intellectual and mental development” a shift she and her colleagues witness in how students engage, focus, and learn.
A community grateful together
The warmth extends beyond the classroom. The School Development and Monitoring Committee, parents, and the wider village community have all welcomed the programme. For Jayalakshmamma, it represents something larger than nutrition it is proof of what care from beyond a community’s borders can do for the children within it.
“On behalf of our school and the entire village, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust, Muddenahalli.”
It is a thanks offered not just for a drink, but for the dignity of children who now arrive ready to learn.