Ekal, a non-profit organization, runs single teacher schools in over 55,000 remote villages that benefit 1.5 Million young children - more than half of which are girls. Through ‘Ekal-On-Wheels,' a mobile computer training lab, Ekal imparts digital literacy to 5,000 students, each year. This year, there would be new seven such computer-fitted vans making rounds of villages, and dispensing digital training to 45,000 youths, each year. They make use of spoken tutorials techniques, specially developed by IIT Bombay. Another initiative of Digital-Ekal is ‘Lok-Vidya’ or educating a common man. It provides practical information on a vast number of topics related to indigenous conditions to improve personal health as well as crop output. To support and flourish these digital transactions, Ekal has erected several internet towers which are powered by solar panels. ‘Tablet-Computer,' a pilot program, is underway in some of the villages for the benefit of teachers. Dr. Shubhangi Thakur, President of ‘Health Foundation for Rural India’ (another wing of ‘Ekal Abhiyan’), tells us, talks are on with ‘John Hopkins University, ‘for ‘Tele-Medicine,' that can remotely digitally diagnose most common ailments. There is also a proposal for impoverished farmers to be in direct contact with the marketplace through digital technology, to cut down on intermediaries. There have also been health camps conducted in over 559 villages so far.

The most profound new development at “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation” in 2017 is its adoption of a ground-breaking resolution to reach out to all 600,000-plus rural/tribal areas of India, instead of limiting itself to just 100,000 villages. Considering its current exemplary success in 55,000 villages in providing literacy, healthcare, and empowerment to neglected folks there, this was inevitable. Another reason for this ambitious undertaking is the tremendous momentum Ekal has gained, in recent years from enterprising entrepreneurs joining its fold with innovative ideas from various corners. These dedicated partners have personally invested themselves in different rural projects and tasks that nurture rural life. Ajay and Ranjini Poddar have sponsored ‘skill training Center’ at ‘Karanjho,' Jharkhand for rural entrepreneurs with a sizable donation.

Himanshu Shah, CEO of ‘Shah Capital’ and ‘Mohan Wanchoo,' CEO of ‘EC Infosystems’ have each pledged $100,000 to $200,000 per year, for the next several years to uplift rural lives. Inspired by PM Modi’s initiative for ‘Swachch Bharat,' Himanshuji’s ‘clean environment’ project is already making its mark in 104 villages in its initial phase, and Mohanji is in the process of digitizing as many aspects of rural life as possible. This all-encompassing approach has not only struck a chord with PM Modi who singled out Ekal for unprecedented praise, but also, has drawn the attention of philanthropic corporate giants. Nobody but Ekal had ever before thought that the digital environment and rural environment could be compatible with each other. On October 21, 2016, Ekal was honored by ‘Hewlett-Packard’ in association with ‘India Today Gr.’ with the “Digital Trailblazer Award” at the Digital Conclave in Ranchi, Jharkhand in the presence of Shri Raghubar Das, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for its digital impact on rural India. Ekal has a presence in 10 different countries, making it the largest grass-root movement undertaken by the Indians and NRIs. Ekal is also proud to have Dr. Subhash Chandra, the iconic CEO of ZEETV as the Chairman of “Ekal-Global.”

Not long ago, Ekal had another occasion to put a feather in its cap of numerous accolades. On Dec.2, 2016, the US-India Chamber of Commerce of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX conferred ‘Leadership in Community Service Award’ on “Ekal Vidyalaya” at their annual Award Banquet where Dr. Robert Kaplan, President, and CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas was the key-note speaker and Hon. Anupam Ray, Consul General of India (Houston) was the Chief Guest. Last month also saw ‘Better Business Bureau’ (BBB) putting a unique seal of approval on ‘Ekal’ as the member of ‘Wise Giving Alliance’ - a select group of honorable prestigious organizations for public charity.

According to Bajarang Bagraji, CEO of ‘Ekal Abhiyan,' Ekal will add 5,000 new schools this year specifically in conflict-ridden zones. ‘Anemia,' which is so prevalent among rural women-folks, would be expressly addressed in 300 villages. On the agricultural front, 15,000 nutritional gardens and 25,000 acres of organic farms are under active consideration. Currently, a ‘Gramotthan Resource Center’ (GRC) at ‘Karanjho’ is the information ’citadel’ for villagers to learn modern techniques. It caters to 100 surrounding villages, directly benefitting 100,000 rural folks, and indirectly, affecting almost one million people. This year, 11 such ‘GRC’s are under way. Organic farming and multi-cropping have generated additional income for farmers, ranging from Rupees 3 to 8 lakhs. For healthy nourishment, 81,000 ‘Poshan Vatikas’ (kitchen gardens) have popped up in villages under Ekal’s guidance. Mushrooming cottage-industry training centers have also been a boon to women empowerment. Shilpa Mishra who earned Rs. 10,000 after learning to tailor at Ekal center is now on her way to get ‘Bachelor of Arts’ degree through her savings.

In the USA, 63 Ekal chapters are spanning eight geographical regions. Shri.Vinod Jhunjhunwala is the President and Ashok Danda the Chairman of “Ekal-USA,” at the national level. This year, Ekal-USA has also entered ‘Social-Media’ space and manages pages on Facebook and has a Twitter handle to disseminate information. The technology-savvy team is headed by Akshay Joshi and guided by Prashant Shah and advised by Prakash Waghmare. Please visit our ‘FB’ page (https://www.facebook.com/Ekalvidyalayausa) for frequent updates. Our twitter handle is @EkalGlobal.

This year, for the first time, an innovative group of a dozen talented Artistes from Ekal-villages is being presented at numerous concerts, titled “Ekal Sur, Ekal Taal,” across the USA. The underlying theme of these events, dipped in patriotism, is to depict multi-faceted cultural flavors of rural India through local folk songs/dances and skits from Ramayan-Mahabharat. Ekal believes that this pioneering effort to bring highly talented, village-folks to the forefront of this continent will promote their ethnic artistry and will give them patronage at national and international level. Kindly ‘invest’ yourself in ‘Ekal’ and help us change the character of rural India forever. Please visit www.ekal.org and kindly donate generously.

*For any further information on Ekal, reach out to Prakash.wagmare@ekal.org

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