Midday Meals: RDF believes that every student requires a healthy body to have a healthy mind. Every day, schools provide a nutritious and sumptuous mid-day meal which comprises of rice, dahl (lentils) and one vegetable curry. Students may have as many servings as they like. The meal environment is also very important to RDF. Staff and older students take turns serving and ensure that food is being wasted. Everyone, from senior teachers to nursery students, eats together and start the meal with a Sanskrit chant that gives thanks.Textbooks: RDF follows the State Board. Every year, students receive textbooks for all their subjects. One set of notebooks is also included for each subject. Students are supplemented with Ratna Sagar books, published privately, in the primary section and government publications in senior classes. Students are able to understand and follow the content with the teacher’s guidance. The books also include a CD for Soft skills development. This helps students learn communication skills by listening and speaking through the CD.Yoga & Meditation: RDF believes that just physical nourishment is not enough. Mental, emotional and spiritual nourishment is also an important part of a daily healthy diet. Daily meditation and yoga practice with students and staff alike help promote an environment of well-being. Expert yoga and meditation facilitators are regularly invited to RDF schools to help support these sessions and create a truly holistic atmosphere where students and staff thrive.Mobile Phones for Online Classes: The pandemic had a detrimental effect on rural communities with many families losing employment and a source of income. Several families could not purchase smartphones so that their children could attend online classes. With the help of RDF supporters, needy families received smartphones which ensured that the children could continue with online classes and their education with peace of mind. Distribution of Rice & Lentils: RDF partner, Give India, connects donors to NGOs across India. RDF receives funds from them in the areas of Midday Meal Programme, Teaching & Learning Materials and Infrastructure Development. As schools were closed during the pandemic, the funds from the Midday Meal Programme was utilised to provide needy family with staples like rice and lentils.School Uniforms: Each student is provided with two sets of uniforms. The idea of the uniform is to promote a sense of equality amongst all students and reduce distractions and comparisons. Cleanliness and hygiene are also promoted through daily uniform checks.
