Ek Tara Helping Children Shine Like the Brightest of Stars
TerraGreen|February 2021
Ek Tara is a registered trust that began its journey in 2011 with a small group of marginalized children and women in the slums of Topsia and Tiljala in Kolkata, West Bengal with a vision to provide high-quality holistic education and livelihood skills to enable positive community transformation. Here, we are in an exclusive email conversation with Ek Tara’s Executive Programme Manager, Anupriya Bhattacharya, for TerraGreen.
Anupriya Bhattacharya
Ek Tara Helping Children Shine Like the Brightest of Stars

Please tell us about the motto and major work of your organization. The motto of Ek Tara is to provide high-quality holistic education to children that empowers them to make informed choices in life. The name Ek Tara was chosen as we truly believe that every child is unique and given the right education and opportunities can shine like the brightest of stars. We facilitate the Education and Empowerment of 1300 children and women through our various programmes at our 10,000 sq. ft facility. Our Trustees Mrs. Vinita Saraf and Mrs. Namrata Sureka started the organization in 2011 with 30 children. Ek Tara has Montessori, Primary, and Middle school programmes in addition to non-formal education and school support, aided by digital literacy and skill building for children from the age of 3 years to youth and adults. Each year we enroll 100 children at the Montessori level. We cater full support on books, uniforms, transport, school fees, snack/meals, and health monitoring for our 900 beneficiaries. To meet the increasing need and demand for an English medium facility like ours, Ek Tara has recently taken up additional space of 20,000 sq. ft to run the full education programme under one space for the enhancement of quality. Children from the age of 6 are given access to high-quality education along with a focus on extra-curricular activities. Ek Tara Primary school programme starts at the age of 6. Children under this programme have routine-based classes in all subjects. Ek Tara follows the CBSE curriculum. In addition, children are also provided with art, drama, dance, music, and martial arts classes. To ensure the quality of learning, Ek Tara employs teachers with a B.Ed degree and also employs community girls as helper teachers to them. The programme supports children and creates employment opportunities for young girls in the community.

This story is from the February 2021 edition of TerraGreen.

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This story is from the February 2021 edition of TerraGreen.

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