ANAHEIM: "If the poor children cannot come to education, education must come to them" those are the famous words of Swami Vivekananda. And the Ekal Vidyala Foundation does exactly that. The foundation is committed to eradicating illiteracy from the villages of India by bringing schools to the remote areas that lack resources.Literally meaning one-teacher school, Ekal Vidyala movement seeks the involvement of the local people of the village in the creation of the school, the selection of the teacher and the curriculum. But more importantly, the schools are run with the monetary help from the more privileged members of the society.

Every year, the Ekal Vidyala Foundation of USA (EVFUSA)'s Southern California Chapter brings donors together under one roof collecting the maximum amount of donation in a year, while thanking the donors with entertainment. This year was no different with two fabulous performances: One by The Ramaa Bharadvaj and Angahárá Dance Ensemble with Gary Jones, Blackstreet USA Puppet Theater; the other by Dr Seema Hanamsagar.

The first performance by The Ramaa Bharadvaj & Angahárá Dance Ensemble with Gary Jones, Blackstreet USA Puppet Theater certainly followed on the footsteps of Ekal Vidyala Foundation that believes that education must be fun and entertaining for the children so that they may retain the knowledge and be eager to learn more. The performance included a choreography staged to the ancient story telling - Panchatantra or the animal fables. The event was a definite success as the Southern California chapter drew in approximately $200,000 - enough to support around 510 schools in the rural areas of India.

This year too many youngsters donated a large amount of money to support two or more schools, such as Ketki Warudkar, a student at the University of California, Berkeley. "Education is not just basic reading and writing. It helps you gain confidence and be around your peers," mentioned Ketki when encourage the other youth to donate money and time to the foundation."It is always nice to see the younger generation participating and making a difference in their community," mentioned Uma Gulani, the Regional Vice President of the Southern California Chapter.

"We are currently looking for more youth volunteers to partake in the foundation's mission." Currently there are over 30,000 schools in operation throughout India - over 3000 of these sponsored by the Southern California Chapter alone. The goal for the Ekal Vidyala Foundation is to build 100,000 non-formal schools by the year 2011.