Ekal Holds Fundraiser, Nearing its Goal of Supporting 1,000 Schools in India in 2015

(Photo courtesy:  Lata Vasudev-Shah Kumar)
MANSFIELD, MA–The Boston Chapter of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, a tax exempt non-profit service organization dedicated to education and village development in rural India, is nearing its goal of supporting 1,000 schools in India. It costs $365 per school per year (dollar a day per school). Each school supports about 30 students.“At Ekal New England, we have set a goal of raising money for 1000 schools for this year. We are well on our way towards reaching that goal,” said Subra Dravida, president of New England chapter of Ekal Vidyalaya, which recently held a fundraising gala in Mansfield, MA. “New England region is a world leader in education and it is no surprise that people from New England support and contribute to the cause of education. We would like to thank New Englanders for their strong support of Ekal Vidyalaya.”

Dravida said that about 300 people attended the event on Sunday.

“Our annual concert was a tremendous success. Approximately three hundred people attended the concert and fund-raiser,” Dravida said. “The singing by Rana Chatterjee and Sangeeta Melekar and the musical accompaniments were amazing and everyone had a great time. We had a chance to recognize youth leaders as well as community leaders who have made extraordinary contributions to Ekal.” Dravida said the concert on June 14 was a truly inspirational evening.  “It was delightful to see Ekal supporters of all ages come together and celebrate the wonderful cause of providing basic education to children in rural parts of India. An eight year old boy, Nikhil Jagan who had won first prize at our IndieArt painting competition gave away the entire prize money of $200 to Ekal because he felt the money would be better utilized in educating poor children,” said Dravida. He said there were plenty of deeply moving moments throughout the evening when the leader of Ekal USA, Ranjani Saigal recounted stories of Ekal children who because of Ekal education, became leaders in their communities. 

“It was a very memorable evening,” Dravida said.