Funds Raised By Ekal Vidyalaya
for Educating 3,000 Village children in India

The Ekal Appreciation Dinner Event was held on Friday, December 7th at the Impact Center in Global Mall. The
event was well-attended by about 170 staunch supporters of the Ekal movement. Ekal's primary education, healthcare,
vocational and empowerment education is now transforming entire villages in 22 states, educating over 1.1 million
children through 39,769 schools. Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad, a constituent of the Ekal Abhiyan, has received the S.
R. Jindal 2012 Prize for Peace, Social Harmony & Social Development. The prize money of Rupees one crore will be
used for the running of Ekal Vidyalayas benefitting the marginalized villages in remote India The Ekal Appreciation Dinner
Event was to thank all the supporters who have contributed over the years as well as to reach out to new and potential
donors.

The evening started off with dinner served buffet-style. The excellent food from Ashiana and the ambience of
the Hall was soul food to all those who had braved Atlanta traffic to be present for the event. The Entertainment Program
started with Ganesh Stuti and the traditional lighting of the lamp by the honored guest Sri. Arvind Sharma, Senior P.R.O,
Delta Airlines. In his keynote address, Mr. Arvind Sharma connected with the audience instantly, with his opening line
about the symbolic nature of the “lighting of the lamp”. He emphasized the need for a strong spiritual foundation for every
successful endeavor. Following the lighting of the lamp, Mr. Ajay Upadhyaya presented a short video on the life and
dreams of an Ekal student. Ajay introduced his video very aptly with a strong rendition of the song, “Papa Kehte Hain __”.

The next segment of the evening was the much awaited Sargam performance. Sargam and all the artists truly
presented the best of best with the music, the sound system, the singing, the smiles, the vibes and the support. The
Emcee, Rachna Gupta masterfully interleaved the songs with heart-felt appeals for donations. Rachna urged donors,
“The number of schools is 39,769 which is about 200 short of 40,000 and we can hit that goal tonight”! Atlanta’s resident
artist, Monika Mittal graciously offered her hand paintings as gifts to donors and within the next fifteen minutes, there
were several pledges. Ekal Board member, Mrs. Kusum Khurana recounted her experience of visiting an Ekal school
in Saharanpur District (India), only a fortnight ago. Her first-hand account made a big impact on all those gathered.
One gentleman immediately came forward to make a sponsorship, “I am from Saharanpur, here's my check”! Uma
Muralidhar's tremendous support and dance at the end really enlivened the dance floor.

There were several individuals and entities who donated generously of their talent and time to make this event
possible. The stage design by Sushma Patel of Fifth Season; food by Ashiana Restaurant; contribution by Duggal
Insurance; art by Monika Mittal and Music Entertainment by Sargam’s founder-organizer, Navin Tyagi and popular singers
like Rekha Pallath, Pankaj Bhargava, Yash Warke and Chandrika Narayan. SEWA & EKAL volunteers ably took care of
the Pledge table. Kavita Upadhayaya had a free baby sitting and Activities Desk for children. Considering the delightful
music by Sargam, it was indeed very thoughtful of Kavita to attend to the children throughout that time and parents
enjoyed the program.



In addition, Planet U is a major supporter of this noble cause. Planet U lent its support by donating net proceeds
from the recent Bollywood Dhamka, to support Ekals’ schools. In fact, Planet U Performing Arts chose Ekal Vidyalaya as
its charity of choice for 2012. Ekal is also inviting other Organizations to support Ekal Vidyalaya Movement.



Mr. Malla Reddy and Mr. Ajay Upadhayaya have successfully made presentations on Ekal operations in order
to reach out for corporate sponsorships. Another initiative coming up soon is an immersion style tour in rustic Almora
District, where participants can visit Ekal schools. For more information on Ekal, or to download a pledge form, go to
www.ekal.org. All donors are encouraged to visit Ekal Schools while in India.

It was heart-warming to see an outpouring of support from the Greater Atlanta community at the Ekal Appreciation
Dinner. Ekal’s next big musical event is in March 2013 by Sanjeevani Bhelande, a well-known playback singer from India.
This will be another great opportunity to have fun with a purpose!