Ekal holds gala event to gather funds

DILIP BUTANI

LONH BEACH, California: A gala event, organized by Ekal Vidyalaya at Hotel Hyatt Regency in the city of Long Beach, collected over $2 million through pledges and commitments. It was organized on the heels of previous successful galas in New York, Washington and Houston.

The program started with national anthems of USA and India by Priyadarshini Roy. Next, Bollywood star Omi Vaidya set the ball rolling with a hilarious speech. In his welcome speech, Ekal CEO Suresh Iyer provided a look at the road map for the next five years targeting services through various projects to address education, healthcare, vocational training and women empowerment initiatives planned in the villages that Ekal serves.

Next was the keynote speech by Emily Church, executive director of Global Learning at XPrize, who emphasized on the need for digital literacy in under developed countries to leapfrog learning during early childhood focusing on math and language literacy with Ekal as a partner to deploy the digital content to Ekal served villages. This was followed by Ekal presentation by Ranjani Saigal, the Ekal executive director, and a short speech by Bajrang Bagra, CEO of Ekal Vidyalaya (India)

Celebrity Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi was introduced by Pradeep Goel, chairman of Ekal Vidyalaya Board (India). Oberoi gave an emotional speech and appealed to everyone to donate for this worthy cause.

During the fundraising part of the evening, there was an outpouring of support for Ekal’s initiatives with two donors coming forward with $500,000 in commitments with matching donations for e-Siksha and healthcare projects. There were speeches by donors Manahar Shah, CEO of MSI Surfaces, and Ajay Keshap, CEO of e2solutions.

After the conclusion of the fundraiser session, live vocal fusion entertainment was provided by Nauzad and his group that brought the crowd to the dance floor. The program ended with a vote of thanks by Anil Parekh. Parekh and Dr Bharat Patel were the gala co-convenors.