BY A STAFF REPORTER
SANTA ANA, CA – Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Los Angeles Chapter held a fund raising music concert for the cause of education in rural India, at the Santa Ana High School auditorium on April 23. Funds for 500 schools were raised, a good start for an ongoing effort throughout the year. The event began with the singing of the...
SANTA ANA, CA – Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Los Angeles Chapter held a fund raising music concert for the cause of education in rural India, at the Santa Ana High School auditorium on April 23. Funds for 500 schools were raised, a good start for an ongoing effort throughout the year. The event began with the singing of the...
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US and Indian National Anthems, followed by a Sanskrit invocation by Smitharani who teaches spoken Sanskrit for Sanskrit Bharti.
Uma Gulani, on the Ekal National Board of Directors, paid tribute to philanthropist Pravin Mody, a big Ekal supporter, who passed away recently. The audience was then given a briefing on what Ekal is all about. This began with two short video clips. The first was on basic literacy, which includes reading, writing, arithmetic, general knowledge, Sanskar, basic health and hygiene. The other focused on Gramothan or village development, which is a core objective of Ekal and includes digital literacy so that villagers become self sufficient and do not need to migrate to the cities to earn their livelihood.
Emcees for the evening Smitha Venktesh, and Sulabha Abhyankar elaborated on both aspects of Ekal highlighting that Ekal’s administrative expenses are less than 10 percent. There was also a video clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking about the pioneering work Ekal is doing in more than 52,000 tribal villages all over India.
The music concert which followed was enjoyed by all as singers Anand Vinod and Vibhavari Yadav accompanied by a band including octopad, tabla, and keyboard players, made the old and new Bolloywood hits come alive . This group is from India and have been performing for Ekal for the last two months in different cities in the US. The first half of the concert was music of the singers’ choice. After a short tea break, the second half of the concert was audience request. The music went on late into the night.
Gulani felicitated the artists and thanked all those involved.
Speaking to IJ, Gulani said Ekal Los Angeles Chapter raised funds for 1100 Ekal schools in 2015 and hoped to exceed that number for 2016 as this event was just the start of fund raising efforts for the year and funds kept coming in from donors throughout the year. She also made a appeal for local volunteers to join in helping the cause. The fundraiser started with dinner served to all.
Uma Gulani, on the Ekal National Board of Directors, paid tribute to philanthropist Pravin Mody, a big Ekal supporter, who passed away recently. The audience was then given a briefing on what Ekal is all about. This began with two short video clips. The first was on basic literacy, which includes reading, writing, arithmetic, general knowledge, Sanskar, basic health and hygiene. The other focused on Gramothan or village development, which is a core objective of Ekal and includes digital literacy so that villagers become self sufficient and do not need to migrate to the cities to earn their livelihood.
Emcees for the evening Smitha Venktesh, and Sulabha Abhyankar elaborated on both aspects of Ekal highlighting that Ekal’s administrative expenses are less than 10 percent. There was also a video clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking about the pioneering work Ekal is doing in more than 52,000 tribal villages all over India.
The music concert which followed was enjoyed by all as singers Anand Vinod and Vibhavari Yadav accompanied by a band including octopad, tabla, and keyboard players, made the old and new Bolloywood hits come alive . This group is from India and have been performing for Ekal for the last two months in different cities in the US. The first half of the concert was music of the singers’ choice. After a short tea break, the second half of the concert was audience request. The music went on late into the night.
Gulani felicitated the artists and thanked all those involved.
Speaking to IJ, Gulani said Ekal Los Angeles Chapter raised funds for 1100 Ekal schools in 2015 and hoped to exceed that number for 2016 as this event was just the start of fund raising efforts for the year and funds kept coming in from donors throughout the year. She also made a appeal for local volunteers to join in helping the cause. The fundraiser started with dinner served to all.
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