Ekal Vidyalaya is a twenty five year old organization that is dedicated to education and village development in rural India. Ekal's philosophy is to take a holistic approach to social and economic development.

 

The Ekal movement is the largest, grassroots, non-government education movement in India reaching nearly 1.5 million children in almost 52,000 villages in India.

The organization has grown by leaps and bounds nearly doubling its reach in the past five years. At its core, the organization brings basic literacy to children aged 6-14 while using a holistic approach to education. In addition to enabling children to read and write their own language and making them numerate the education also places emphasis on value education and extra-curricular activities including sports and music.   

While education is at its core, the Ekal movement is now expanding to address the health and development needs of these villages. Anemia is a huge problem amongst women in India. Ekal has begun to address this issue by running health camps that is focused on Anemia eradication.  

The establishment of “nutrition gardens” in villages has had a positive impact on the health of the villagers. The planting of fruit trees, vegetables and herbs and teaching the benefits of eating right has great value for villages. Micro-rural entrepreneurship is also another new area of focus for Ekal.

These new initiatives hold great promise as Ekal tries to fulfill its mission of bringing holistic development to the rural villages.

To learn more about Ekal or to donate to this wonderful organization please check out their website at  www.ekal.org.