Ekal Vidyalaya, an organization that brings education to rural and tribal areas in India, held its annual conference in Chicago, Illinois on Sept 19-22.  Volunteers from all chapters in the US and Canada and members of the Indian team gathered to discuss the current status of Ekal and to identify opportunities for growth.    

Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Indian Prime Minister and Shyamji Gupta the leader of the Ekal movement presented keynote addresses. “I know the work of Ekal Vidyalaya very well. I know what it takes to get to where you are today and I  really admire your work” said Sam Pitroda.  In his keynote, Pitroda outlined many of the initiatives the government is undertaking including broadband connection of 250,000 village Panchayats. 

Shyamji Gupta outlined the current status of the Ekal movement. In addition to providing education via schools, the Ekal movement is also launching two new initiatives – Arogya, to address health issues and Gramothan, to bring business opportunities to the villages.  Shyamji reiterated the core values of Ekal, which is to provide education, not just to bring literacy but to create change agents who will use their skills to uplift their own community. 

The members of the Indian team included, Naresh Jain, and G.D.Goel the President and Chairman of the Bharitya Lok Shiksha Parishad and Pradeep Goyal, President of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India.

“Ekal is at an inflection point” said Pradeep Goyal, as he described the tremendous growth that has happened in the past five years. Currently Ekal Vidyalaya runs schools in over 51,000 villages touching nearly 1.5 million children.  He described the success of the movement and presented opportunities for the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA to support this growth.. The Indian team also discussed the two new initiatives Arogya and Gramothan. 

Regional teams presented a report of their work over the year.  This year’s conference also featured a youth panel.  The conference attendees were very encouraged by the passion of the youth to make a difference. G.D.Goel from India gave seed money to the youth to support their work. 

This year’s conference coincided with the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.  Being in Chicago, it was very appropriate that the field trip for the conference was to the Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago, where Swami Vivekananda gave his famous speech in 1893 that sparked the interest in Hinduism in America.  The Indian Ekal team donated a bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda to the Art Institute. 

Ranjani Saigal, the newly appointed executive director of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, USA was introduced at the conference.  She outlined some of the initiatives she has explored in her first month in office and presented ideas for the road ahead.

In the concluding session new appointments were announced. Vinod Jhunjhunwala was chosen as the new President of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA and Renu Gupta was chosen as the board chair.  Dr. Veena Gandhi was named as the chair of the Arogya effort in the US. 

As the conference came to a close, the attendees felt a great sense of gratitude to the Ekal Chicago chapter under the leadership of Dr. Hasmukh Shah and conference coordinator Dr. Kishor Fruitwala for hosting a wonderful conference that was informational, inspiring and enlightening.