LOS ANGELES: Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation presented a scintillating musical evening at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple "Raging Ryhyms". There was huge gathering of young and old, in support of Ekal Foundation. The talented artists were Anand Kanan (sa-re-ga-ma 2008 finalist, rock band vocalist) Parminder Guri (desi idol 2007) Koli Datta, Ramneek (UK) and Flaming Fusion. The highly charged evening started with welcome speech by Reena Rao, followed by emcee of the evening, Pooja Jain who made the stage alive with her wit and charm.

The guests thoroughly enjoyed songs rendered by these talented youngsters. The songs ranged from those sung by the icon Md. Rafi to legendry Lata Mangeshkar, each piece rendered effortlessly complimenting these marvelous singers. As the show progressed the audience was made aware of the purpose of this wonderful evening by Sucheta Kapuria and Bipin Shah who are on the Board of Advisors of Ekal Vidyalaya, who urged and encouraged everyone to donate towards the noble cause of literacy movement providing primary education program for remote tribal villages in India. Some facts about Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, it was registered as charitable trust in 1999; the concept has been in practice and refined over decades. 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 Late Dr Rakesh Popli (a US-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, Madan Lal Agarwal established similar schools in 60 villages near Dhanbad. By 1995-1996 there were 1200 schools being run in Jharkhand.

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.

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 fundraising 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.

One can adopt a school with nominal donation of $365.00 which takes care of about 20 to 30 students for one year, a very much doable effort.Before the evening concluded many schools were adopted by those present making it a very fulfilling event. The vision of Ekal Foundation is: To banish illiteracy from the face of tribal India by providing free, non-formal education through a People-Movement. With the interest and involvement displayed by Indian Diaspora it seems that the target will soon be met. India Post wishes it success in all their endeavors.