Last year, Professor Anil Saigal organized an Appathon at Boston University to benefit Ekal Vidyalaya. It was a huge success. Inspired and deciding to do something similar, Rishika Bansal, a seventh grade student in Bedford, NH planned the Ekal Appathon in New Hampshire.

With a full house and participants from both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Appathon couldn’t have gone better. The event was organized on March 19th in Bedford, New Hampshire. We raised over $1200 for Ekal schools. Ekal Boston team was always there to mentor and help to organize the event. Using Thunkable, a drag and drop programming platform, participants learned how to create their own Android apps. After a short break for lunch, participants were put into teams of 2-3 and given the chance to brainstorm ideas for their very own app creation. Many of the teams created educational games and quizzes, hoping to help educate children in rural Indian villages. One application which left the whole room gaping was a learning platform. Through it, children could improve their math, reading, geography, and history skills; all while having tons of fun. Another app helped moms do online shopping. The most creative app was to raise money as donation for Ekal villages.

EYLs Rishika Bansal, Nitya Upadustra, Ayush Upneja, and Shanmukha Srinivasan led the workshop and did a wonderful job making sure all participants understood the concepts. The EYLs helped teams throughout the competition, guiding them in the right direction. After 2 ½ long hours, kids presented their app and ideas to everyone including judges. Rishika Bansal introduced our panel of judges from the industry:

Sukhram Pal from Fidelity Investments
Janani Baskaran, student at Tufts University
Ajey Kancherapalli, a high school student who has won numerous First Lego League and First Robotics Challenge competitions

Thoroughly impressed, the judges had a difficult time choosing a winner. Each and every student worked so hard to learn app building skills on Thunkable and come up with their own unique ideas for apps. They all did an incredible job!

The tremendous success of this event can be accredited to the direction and determination of Ekal NE leads: Ranjani Saigal, Parveen Minocha, Anu Upneja, Pushpa Baskaran, and Srilakshmi Srinivasan. In addition, this event wouldn’t have been as great as it was without the help of the Ekal Youth Leaders: Janani Baskaran and Sriganesh Srinivasan. Vijaya Upadrasta donated water and snacks for the event.

Ekal New England loves incorporating new fundraising ideas that can also benefit local communities. This event was a day to cherish, and the participants had lots of fun with hands-on learning while simultaneously supporting children in their efforts to receive a basic education. For those who could not make it, stay tuned because Ekal Appathon may be coming to your town!

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