The remote rural villages in Amrabad, Telangana have lacked viable access to education and economic opportunities. The literacy rate in this area has been lower in this area than the rest of the state. Supported by Guru Krupa Foundation, Ekal USA Integrated Village Development (IVD) program is working to bring literacy, digital literacy and economic development to a 30 village cluster in Amrabad. 

Integrated Village Development (IVD) is a 5 year focused effort to help rural villages become prosperous and self-reliant through education, health services, and skills training. IVD operates in a cluster of 30 villages at a time, concentrating various development projects on a specific geographic region for maximum impact. The interventions provided in the cluster includes core programs in the initial phase and then tailored programs to meet the needs of the area. 

The area is populated by Chechu Tribes. They own small pieces of land and cultivate cotton during the dry season and paddy during the rainy season says Uday Kardekar, general secretary of the Ekal Gramothan Foundation. Single teacher schools in the villages, called Ekal Vidyalayas, have already been established in Amarabad and with the support of Guru Krupa Foundation, teaching nearly  900 children in the age group of 6-14. While the schools were closed during COVID, the teachers in the villages provided information about the pandemic to the villagers and helped keep the children and villagers safe. Children also gathered in a socially distanced manner outside and worked on language, math and physical exercise. 

During the 5 years, Ekal will be adding Digital Literacy, Health, Sustainable Farming training and Skill Training centers in these villages to bring better health outcomes and provide economic opportunities. Tailoring training for women has proven to be very impactful in empowering women. Computer training centers provide good income generating opportunities. 

We are so grateful to Guru Krupa Foundation for their support of Ekal and thank them for supporting Ekal’s mission of building self-reliant rural villages, one cluster at a time. For more information on Guru Krupa Foundation, please check out their website at http://guru-krupa.org/