Jaipur: Former US President Bill Clinton today served chapattis to children at a government school here after witnessing preparation of mid-day meals for thousands of students at the kitchen run by an NGO.
Clinton visited the kitchen of Akshya Patra Foundation in Jagatpura area where he saw how food was prepared with the use of technology for a large number of government school children as part of the mid-day meal programme.
The former US President, who arrived here on Monday night as part of his tour to Asia/Pacific region to oversee the work of Clinton Foundation, arrived at the NGO`s facility with his 25-member delegation where he was received by the organisation`s trustee members and some school students.
He then took nearly an hour-long trip around the kitchen to see how it caters to school students in and around Jaipur, during which he was briefed about the operation by the foundation`s Chairman Madhu Pandit Dasa. Clinton seemed specially impressed by the functioning of a Chapatti-making machine with a capacity to make 40,000 of such flat breads in an hour.
After the trip to the kitchen, he and his delegation headed to a government school in nearby Pratap Nagar area where he was welcomed by students and teachers with the popular Rajasthani song `Padharo Mhare Des`.
A group of girls also gave cultural presentation on another popular Rajasthani folk song `Ghoomar`. A large numbers of students were seen queueing up to meet the former US President with some of them even managing to take his autograph and giving him hand-made gifts.
Addressing the school students, Clinton praised the work of Akshya Patra Foundation and said he expected the number of school children being fed by it across India to go up from present 1.3 million to 5 million in next few years.
"I want to thank all of the students and teachers for the warm welcome. This is a part of efforts that involves more than 10,000 schools in ten states in India and feeds 1.3 million people a year.
"This is a remarkable partnership between the government, private sector business community and non government organisation," he said.
Clinton and his delegation members also served mid-day meals to students. The kitchen run by Akshya Patra Foundation is part of a programme that provides free mid-day meals to more than 1.3 million school children in over 10,500 government schools across India, with the goal of increasing school enrolment, attendance, and retention, as well as improving overall health in children.
