Ramesh Shah (center) and wife Kokilaben receive the Lifetime Achievement Award (right) from Ekal Advisor Subhash Gupta.
Ekal USA founder Ramesh Shah receives Lifetime Achievement Award
By Juhi Varma
More than fifty years later, he has not only achieved his American Dream but has dedicated himself to helping Indian children and needy rural and tribal villagers in India pursue their own dreams through the non-profit Ekal Vidyalaya foundation of USA.
Ramesh Shah came to the USA in the 1970s with few possessions and many dreams of building a better life. He came to Houston in 1976. His family joined him two years later.
Today, nearly five decades later, Ramesh ji is not only a respected member of Houston’s vibrant Indian community but also a driving force behind a nonprofit organization that has touched the lives of countless children in rural India—Ekal.
“Ekal means ‘one’ in Sanskrit, we have a unique one-teacher one-school model,” said Ramesh ji in an interview.
As he celebrated his 80th birthday, Ramesh ji’s journey is a testament to the power of hard work, community spirit, and a deep commitment to making a difference.
These were the qualities that led him to Ekal, which he joined as an idealistic young volunteer eager to contribute to India. He rose to become a leader, founding Ekal USA in 2000, and eventually being appointed Secretary. As a testament to his accomplished leadership at Ekal and the impact on India’s rural and tribal villages, Ramesh ji was also conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2017 (the highest honor given to the Indian diaspora by the President of India).
A new beginning in Houston
Ramesh ji’s early days in Houston were challenging. Coming from Gabat village in Gujarat, he had studied engineering and hoped to use his skills to carve out a career in the United States. Houston at that time was an unfamiliar territory, and the immigrant experience was marked by language barriers, cultural adjustments, and the pain of being away from loved ones.
Theirs was one of the few Gujarati families in Houston, a community that would later grow to include many prominent Indian-Americans.
Ramesh ji went on to acquire an M.A. in economics and an M.B.A in finance.
Through it all, however, he remained committed to helping his home country.
“I also come from a village, and it’s because of education that I am here,” Ramesh ji said.
Ramesh ji established the Gujarati Samaj of Houston in 1979.
He said it was the strong moral foundation from his Indian upbringing that had made his success possible, and he wanted to pass that blessing forward.
Impact on the ground
Today, Ekal operates over 85,000 schools across rural India, Ramesh ji said. These schools provide basic education to children in remote and underserved areas, often where access to formal schooling is limited or non-existent. The Ekal schools complement government schools, working together to support each other’s efforts.
“The teachers teach for three hours,” Ramesh ji said. “Most of our schools now operate after the government schools are done, so maybe 5 p.m., some places 4 p.m., even earlier up in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh where the sun rises early.”
The organization is highly inclusive, welcoming students of all religions, with a curriculum that is tailored to the local language and region of each school. The children also play games, sing songs and are taught traditional values.
“The teacher is always a local,” Ramesh ji said. “You cannot have a person from Assam going to Gujarat or someone from Kanyakumari going to UP. It is taught in the local language–math, storytelling–that is where Sanskrit comes in. Khel-kud. Also, we teach them to live together.”
Ekal Vidyalaya has a one-teacher, one-school model, with an emphasis on community involvement and sustainable education. The organization’s goal is not just to educate children but also to promote health awareness, empower women, and improve overall community development in these rural regions.
“Urban as well as rural, they are both part of one Bharat,” Ramesh ji said.
The first Ekal Vidyalaya was founded in the1986 by Dr. Rakesh Popli in Jharkhand, a nuclear physics professor at IIT Kanpur and Purdue Graduate,and his wife Rama Popli, a primary education specialist.
One school led to another, growing steadily, but in the early 2000s this linear growth became exponential, after a strategic decision to reach out to the rapidly expanding NRI population.
“By 2004 we taught healthcare education, preventive healthcare measures, empowerment,” he said. “Education, how to use RTI (Right to Information) act, how to take interest in finding how we can change society or ask the government what they are supposed to do. The people must also become economically viable. They must also earn a living.”
Ekal Holistic Village Empowerment:
Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation’s impact extends beyond education through its comprehensive empowerment programs aimed at holistic rural development. Ekal Arogya focuses on improving health awareness and preventive healthcare in rural communities, providing vital health education and promoting hygiene practices to 855,000 villagers and growing. The Ekal Women Empowerment Centers offer skills training in areas like tailoring and handicrafts, enabling women to gain economic independence and contribute to their families’ well-being and trained more than 23,000 villagers at 100 plus training centers.
Through Ekal Computer Training Labs, more than 12,000 rural youth are equipped with basic computer skills, bridging the digital divide and enhancing their employability in an increasingly technology-driven world. Additionally, Ekal Organic Farming encourages sustainable agricultural practices, teaching farmers how to grow crops without harmful chemicals, which helps protect the environment and improve community health. These programs collectively empower individuals to build a better, more sustainable future for themselves and their communities.
Looking to the future
Ekal USA, with 65 chapters nationwide and six in Texas with thousands of volunteers across the USA, primarily focuses on fundraising and provides an opportunity for individuals to contribute to India’s holistic development.
Ramesh ji and his wife Kokila have traveled across India many times in the last two decades, from the mountainous Northeast down to Kanya Kumari, visiting villages, meeting locals, and understanding the needs of rural communities.
“And that opened up our eyes, because living in America, you forget that so many years after azadi, that there is no power, water, housing, there are no roads, simple things which we took for granted,” he said, speaking about the first such trip they took back in 1999.
The number of schools and the impact of Ekal continue to grow, as the organization expands its reach and deepens its impact across the country.
Ekal’s global presence connects the vast and thriving Indian diaspora to their homeland, offering a reliable way to contribute to India’s progress. Supporters can be assured that their donations are being used wisely, directly benefiting communities and making a real impact. Finally, he would like to appeal to the Indian diaspora “Think about your own village back in India, and what you would do to see it progress.”
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