Empowering Children and Uplifting Communities

At BW LPG India, we fund selected community development and local self-help initiatives that have the potential to transform not just individual lives but entire communities. In April 2023, we began a year-long collaboration with the Nourishing Schools Foundation to support their work with educational institutions to increase the understanding of nutrition and healthy eating amongst students, and encourage healthier cooking with LPG.

At the invitation of the Nourishing Schools Foundation, BW LPG India visited Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS) Pemasar and GSSS Seruna, both located in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, to see how students are being empowered to take charge of their own nutrition and health.

About Nourishing Schools Foundation

The Nourishing Schools Foundation runs awareness campaigns in schools across India to improve nutrition of families and communities using a data-driven approach to monitor and understand the impact of their programs. Nourishing Schools Foundation aims to develop young changemakers aged between 9-14 years who can take charge of improving their own and their communities’ nutrition. The Foundation has worked with public schools and communities across India in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam and Tamil Nadu, reaching over 230 schools and 60, 000+ children directly using a simple yet proven “toolkit” (box of ideas) approach. While our collaboration with the Foundation started in 2023, they have been covering schools in Rajasthan since 2017.

Learning Through Play

After conducting a baseline survey to assess the key priorities for schools, a customized toolkit is created to address these key priorities. Students engage with games and activities from the toolkit to learn about nutrition and health-related concepts in a hands-on and fun manner. Over two cycles (two years) of engaging with the toolkit, children learn to address nutrition-related challenges in their schools and communities such as by establishing and maintaining school gardens to access nutritious foods and supplement their mid-day meals. By targeting children, we have a lasting impact because:

Foundational Habits: Children are at a stage where habits, once formed, tend to last a lifetime. By targeting this demographic, the initiative ensures that informed food choices become ingrained behaviors, leading to lifelong healthy eating patterns.

Future Generations Benefit: Educated children grow up to be informed adults. They are more likely to pass on their knowledge about healthy food choices to their offspring, creating a cycle of informed generations.

Prevention Over Cure: Addressing the issue at a young age can prevent related health problems in the future, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. By promoting healthy choices during their formative years, we can reduce the healthcare burden in the long run.

Education Ripple Effect: Children often influence their family’s habits. By empowering the former with knowledge, we create the potential for a ripple effect, where they share what they learned with parents and siblings, amplifying the initiative’s impact.

Adaptable Palates: Children’s taste buds are still developing and by introducing nutritious food, they are encouraged to develop a preference for healthier options.

Economic Impact: By fostering a generation that makes informed food choices, the demand for healthier, locally sourced, and sustainable products can increase. This can boost local economies and promote sustainable agriculture.

Empowered Decision Makers: Children, when educated about their food choices, can become more confident in making decisions that affect their lives. This skill extends beyond food and can make them more responsible and aware consumers in other areas as well.

Ensuring Positive Community Impact

With support from BW LPG India, the Foundation has completed a baseline survey in 20 schools in Rajasthan, and rolled out the toolkits to 16 schools, with the remaining four toolkits to be rolled out by mid-November. A midline survey will be conducted in Q1 2024 to assess the impact from the toolkit. During the visit, it was heartening to see that schools have started to set up gardens as part of activities related to the toolkit. Through play and hands-on experience, students are getting acquainted with concepts related to health and nutrition – such as food groups, how germs spread, and diseases due to vitamin deficiencies.

Over the next few months, the Nourishing Schools Foundation will work with school and community representatives to address priority action items. BW LPG India appreciates the opportunity of a site visit to GSSS Pemasar and GSSS Seruna. The visit deepened our understanding of how we can use energy to uplift communities – as we run our business well, we can channel profits to benefit the communities we serve.

Archana Sinha, Co-founder and CEO, Nourishing Schools Foundation, says, “We are immensely proud to partner with BW LPG India on this transformative initiative. Our collaboration will equip young minds in Rajasthan with the knowledge and tools they need to embrace a healthier future. Through these tailored toolkits and workshops, we’re not just educating students; we’re nurturing a generation of informed changemakers who will spearhead the adoption of nutritious diets and cleaner cooking practices with LPG. This project goes beyond immediate impact—it’s about sowing seeds for sustainable health and well-being that students will carry into their futures and beyond.”

Captain Gaurav Bhatia, Managing Director, BW LPG India, says. “On behalf of BW LPG India, we thank the Nourishing Schools Foundation for coordinating a visit to the schools in Rajasthan. Our appreciation also goes to the village elders, school representatives, parents and students who took time to host our visit. It was a privilege to see first-hand how knowledge can transform lives. The benefits will be far-reaching and we are glad to have played a part in facilitating the process.