Whenever we fall sick, we run to the doctor. Here is a young mind who wants to pursue this noble profession. Vidhi, a student of Std VII in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Primary School in the city of Surat in Gujarat, is an aspiring doctor. She considers it as a respectable profession where we can help people who are in pain. Though she is yet to finalise on specialisation, she knows that the road ahead will be tough. “I know it will be difficult and I will have to work hard for it, but I am willing to do it.”

While being a good student academically, she is also interested in extracurricular activities. She loves to participate in dancing, drawing and elocution competitions, among other things. The last time she participated in an elocution competition, her topic was – the importance of saving water. “If we stop wasting water by doing something as simple as turning our taps off properly, some of our water scarcity problems will definitely be solved,” she said. She also spoke passionately about the importance of implementing the drip irrigation system as an effective measure to minimise water usage in agriculture. Besides studies, drawing, and dancing, she also takes interest in sports; athletics in particular. 

Vidhi enjoys school because here she gets to learn new things. “That’s one reason,” she said and went on to add, “The other reason is healthy food provided to us at school. The food provided to us is good for health as it contains many nutrients required by our body. We get soybean, Dal Bhaat, Dal Dhokli, Thepla, etc. I like soybean and Dal the most, but I also like other food items that we get.”

Vidhi’s father works in a mall, while her mother works as a house help. Both of them have to leave early in the morning for work, so the start of the day is very hectic for the family. In such circumstances, the assurance that their child will get food at school must be making things a lot easier for them. In fact, this rings true for most of the working parents in our country.

Vidhi echoed the thoughts of the parents when she said, “Nobody will like if Akshaya Patra stops providing meals to our school, because then, we will have to get our lunchbox from home and that will be difficult for most of us.”