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Inviting ALL to help MOTHER..

Inviting ALL to help MOTHER..

By now I am sure you have heard of Ekal Vidyalaya.

Although the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation was registered as charitable trust in 1999, the concept has been in practice and refined over decades.

*Foundation Laid by Vivekananda*
In 1986, inspired by the efforts of the early Vivekananda workers, a group of young educationists began work with the primitive tribes in the dense forests of Jharkhand. Notable amongst them were Dr. Rakesh Popli (a USA-returned nuclear scientist) and his wife Rama Popli (a child education expert). They refined the concept of the 'one-teacher school' amongst the tribes of Gumla (125 km away from Ranchi (Jharkhand), Chhatisgarh. Two years later, Shri Madan Lalji Agarwal established similar schools in 60 villages near Dhanbad.

*Impact of the Jharkhand experiment*
By 1995-1996 there were 1200 schools being run in Jharkhand. Jharkhand's experiment with the one-teacher, en eminent industrialist one-school non formal education concept was extraordinary. Overall literacy rates in Jharkand doubled; the literacy rate soared from approximately 30 to 60 percent, with youth literacy surpassing those numbers. Furthermore, during the same time frame, health workers noticed a sharp decline in diseases caused by non-hygienic practices, witchcraft, and alcoholism. Inspired by the success of the Jharkand experiment, organizations around the country adopted the concept. Many organizations including Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) have been the frontrunners in propagating this cause and have brought education to the doorsteps of many forgotten children.

*Spreading of the Movement*
In last decade, organizations from all over the country have joined the Ekal Vidyalaya movement. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India serves as the umbrella organization for various NGOs that run one-teacher schools in their respective areas.

In the year 2000-2001, EVFI became established in New Delhi. From December of 2001, a CEO was appointed to look after the trust's activities. In January of 2001, the EVFI international fund raising arm was begun. One month later, the FCRA granted this arm the right to receive foreign contributions.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India and America are working earnestly, hand-in-hand, to help raise the funds necessary to build 100,000 non-formal schools across the tribal belt by the year 2011.

The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement of over 23,189 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers, 20 field organizations (scattered in 20 Indian states), and 8 support agencies as on 30 June 2007. With this tremendous human force, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement strives to create a network of non-formal schools that will educate and empower children in rural and tribal India.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country.

Ekal Vidyalaya's VISION is....

To banish illiteracy from the face of tribal India by providing free, non-formal education through a People-Movement.

*Literate India*
While it is making giant advances in software, space, and nuclear power, India is paradoxically still struggling with questions of basic literacy for a large segment of its population. Upon independence, India's literacy rate was a staggering 11 percent. Since then, we have made tremendous advances in educating our people. Still, more than five decades after independence, 65.4% India is still illiterate. Even worse off is the position of tribal India, which has a literacy rate below 30 percent.

The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement of over 23,189 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers, 20 field organizations (scattered in 20 Indian states), and 8 support agencies as on 30 June 2007. With this tremendous human force, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement strives to create a network of non-formal schools that will educate and empower children in rural and tribal India.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country.

*The Paradox*
While Indians have succeeded in flexing their intellectual prowess and in establishing entrepreneurship throughout the world, over a third of India's population is illiterate. Tribal villagers who live in remote areas away from major cities are the worst affected. Often unreachable by road and untouched by electricity, the tribal population is often neglected by agencies of development. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, therefore, has focused its primary education programs on tribals and other underprivileged communities in rural India.

*Beyond Literacy*
Ekal Vidyalaya goes beyond mere literacy. Apart from its goal of achieving the national standards of Minimum Level of Learning (MLL) for its students, Ekal Vidyalaya also seeks to empower the village community for its own self-development. Ekal Vidyalaya solicits complete involvement of the local community and aims at making the school self-reliant in a period of five to seven years.

The donors, supporters and workers of Ekal Vidyalaya are motivated by a commitment to educate our illiterate brothers and sisters. Their unflinching dedication to serve their motherland is the key to our success.

Why An Ekal School?

*On the Children's Terms*
For many rural and tribal children, a formal education is unattractive because: (a) they must travel great distances to attend school; (b) school hours interfere with the children's family responsibilities; (c) the children do not have the funds for uniforms and books; (d) neither the teachers nor the curriculum give due consideration to their needs and life experience. Though the government has implemented many schemes to educate rural and tribal children, their literacy rate remains staggeringly low.

In contrast, Ekal Vidyalaya has designed a non-formal education program customized to meet the needs of rural and tribal children. First, the children are taught in their native language (and then in either the state or national language). Second, Ekal Vidyalaya classes are scheduled to meet the needs of the village children and are often adapted depending on the season and harvest schedule. Third, the school curriculum is tailored to teach the children basic literacy and life skills to help them develop self-confidence and succeed in rural occupations or pursue a higher education if they choose.

One of the strengths of Ekal Vidyalaya's non-formal education program is that it can be run on the children's terms. The Ekal Vidyalaya takes into consideration their schedule, their experience, their needs, their dreams. These children are the future. . . that is why it is important to take education to their doorstep and ignite their minds.

*Friendly Teacher, Local Curriculum*
Conventional subjects such as history, geography, science, and literature have little value in the lives of many rural and tribal children. They struggle to make ends meet in an agrarian economy. Often, they speak a local dialect far removed from the state or national language. To kindle an interest in education and to give due deference to their local customs and traditions, Ekal Vidyalaya commences with instruction in the local dialect. In addition, the Ekal Vidyalaya teacher is a friendly face familiar with the village children, traditions and customs. The teacher generally plays the role of an elder brother or sister. He or she plays, sings, educates, and empowers his or her children through non-formal education. The influx of new ideas filtered through familiar channels helps make learning dynamic and fun.

*Emphasis on Quality*
For Ekal Vidyalaya, education is more than book learning. Education is the assimilation of life-building, man-making, character-building ideas. To instill those principles requires skills and dedication. Ekal Vidyalaya takes great care in selecting and training its teachers to provide the best quality education possible.

Ekal Vidyalaya recruits teachers from local villages based on nominations from the village committee. Teachers must have the leadership inclination and be generally as knowledgeable as at least an eighth grader and a service mentality. Ekal Vidyalaya interviews each candidate to evaluate his or her interest and dedication to the community. Once selected, Ekal Vidyalaya indoctrinates the teachers with Ekal's unique holistic approach to education. Teachers undergo vigorous training to qualify them to run Ekal Vidyalaya schools. (See Teacher's Preparation). Also, supervisors and trainers regularly visit the schools to help enhance the quality of teaching. Lastly, supervised annual exams provide further reassurance that the school meets quality standards.

Local Chapter of Ekal Vidhyalaya has spent numerous hours to put together a GRAND Multi media dance, music, drama concert by an INTERNATIONAL group, directed by Broadway Musician Andrew Sterman. The group will be celebrating Mahatma Gandhi's commitments to humanity. This group will be performing for the PRESIDENT of the United State this October.

This program is this Saturday - July 14th at 5 PM sharp.


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