Bill Clinton Brings Hope, Serves Food to Children in Jaipur, India

Former President Bill Clinton in Jaipur on July 16, 2014

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Jaipur/Washington, DC – Former US President Bill Clinton served food today at a kitchen in Jaipur as he kick started his travels to India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia from July 16 to 23 as part of his longstanding commitment to the Asia/Pacific region and to highlight the work of the Clinton Foundation on the key social issues in the five countries.

Jaipur witnessed Clinton participating with enthusiasm and charm as he served in the kitchen that is part of a school lunch program that feeds over one million children daily across India. The program is part of a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action made by non government organizations, Akshaya Patra and the Deshpande Foundation.

“Excited to be spending the next eight days visiting Clinton Foundation’s partners and projects in South East Asia,” said Clinton in a statement on Twitter, adding, “Today’s visit with AkshayaPatra, which feeds more than one million kids a day in 10,500 schools across India.”

When President Clinton left the White House in 2001, he decided to pursue his “vision: a nongovernmental organization that could leverage the unique capacities of governments, partner organizations, and other individuals to address rising inequalities and deliver tangible results that improve people’s lives.” The Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was thus born and as it evolved over the years, one of its divisions, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) began in September 2005 “to convene world leaders, forward-looking CEOs, and philanthropists to commit to take action on pressing global challenges.”

Over the course of eight annual meetings, members made more than 2,800 commitments totaling $87.9 billion that would improve more than 430 million lives according to the CGI.

In his latest tour, Clinton is traveling through the vast Asia-Pacific region, covering more than 6 billion acres of land area, or approximately 22 percent of all land on the globe. The region is also the world’s most populous continent, home to more than 4 billion people, most of whom live in cities, and Asia claims nearly half the world’s urban population.

The Clinton Foundation has identified high rate of malnourishment in “children under five, particularly in South Asia, where 39 percent of children have stunted growth as a result” and is working to address the issue with unflinching efforts and unsullied faith in partners.

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