Ekam Foundation Mumbai was established as a non-profit organization/NGO to address the healthcare needs of children and neonates. This remains a core program, allowing us to diversify our work to our current overarching theme of health and education.

The first 100 children were supported under the medical-intervention program of Surgery Support, now named Ekam Aarogyam. NICU and PICU (neonatal and paediatric ICU) care became an essential component of critical-care support.

We launched a nurse training program in partnership with the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP). The training focused on neonatal resuscitation and advanced life support care programs to better equip MCGM nurses for handling emergency cases. In the first cohort, 100 nurses received training.
‍

Currently, under the education scholarship program of Ekam Unnati, nearly 500 nursing students across India are awarded scholarships every year for completing their education. Additionally, they receive mentoring and placement help under our Ekam Udaan program.

Health Awareness Program launched: In alignment with the Swachh Bharat Program, in-house IEC (Information Education and Communication) trainings were designed to run health awareness sessions in MCGM schools for students from the primary and secondary standards.
‍

This program ran successfully, covering 1000+ BMC schools annually until the pandemic interrupted such interventions. Post-COVID, it was re-imagined as a pan-India, monthly health and education awareness online program.

Ekam Aarogyam launched its first medical intervention outreach initiative in Kolkata, West Bengal, in collaboration with prominent hospitals in the city. Soon after, this initiative extended to cover trust and charitable hospitals throughout eastern India, reaching as far as Assam, Meghalaya, and Manipur.

Partnership with the student council of IIM Vishakhapatnam was established for outreach expansion work in southern India.

Ekam Aarogyam was expanded to cover cancer care more broadly. Onco-surgery, BMT treatment, high-end investigations and scans, expensive therapy drugs for chemo and radiation, and blood disorders like Thalassemia were included in the funding bracket.

An emergency education fund was created in the midst of the pandemic to prevent children from dropping out of school due to COVID-induced financial constraints on their families. This soon became a full-fledged academic support program, Ekam Pragati, for children in middle to high school; additionally, a one-time scholarship, Ekam Unnati, was introduced for meritorious girls in higher education.

Unnati gives the much-needed nod to the positive affirmation for girls in education, aiming to empower them in their chosen career paths.

Covid-relief support worth 1.35 Cr organized within a week for emergency treatments for the Mumbai Covid-relief ward and other hospitals.

Institutional Capacity Building became an independent program supplementing the health and education verticals. Aptly named Ekam Nirmaan, this program helps the hospital and school infrastructure for their capacity augmentation.

Ten inspiring, rewarding, transformational, value-added, and impactful years completed! Starting from the ante-room of a Mumbai hospital with just enough funds to support around 50 children, we journeyed to our decennial year, overcoming the challenges of an unprecedented pandemic, to reach the threshold of a 10Cr organization impacting 5000 lives each year, gaining recognition for our work and being applauded for our values.

The first rural outreach camp for our health awareness program was held in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in partnership with another ground-based NGO. Nearly 6000 people attended, including children from five schools. Furthermore, a mobile medical van was organized for a ten-day health check-up camp.

An online health and education awareness series was initiated as knowledge dissemination sessions on various topics under health and science enrichment education outside the school curriculum.

It gradually broadened in scope to include career counselling for our high school students and those in professional courses like engineering and nursing. Thus, our mentoring program of Ekam Saarthi was born.

Association with the AWES (Army Welfare Education Society) was forged to reach deep into the country for resourcing the neediest educational requisites of army children. Around 20 army schools were supported across India, some in very remote areas, under the Ekam Pragati, Unnati and Nirmaan initiatives.

We helped cure 2700 clubfoot conditions in a single year in partnership with another ground-based NGO working in remote villages across India.

Employees of IBM USA partnered with us for mentoring students in science and engineering on an individual level, offering guidance for career opportunities in the IT sector.

Under Ekam Nirmaan, co-launched a pilot project for addressing problems of blindness with the Chaitanyam Institute for Human Excellence in Healthcare, and Vision Foundation India, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in alignment with the Netra Jyoti Abhiyan campaign under the National Program for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment, 2022.

This includes the construction of an ophthalmic hospital for cataract surgery and the availability of mobile eye check-up vans for a 2.5 lakh rural population from there.

Rolled out our first initiative in mental health and well-being, Ekam Saksham, for 40 BMC schools, catering to 3500 children in the Mahim-Worli area of Mumbai. In the pilot phase, mobile vans equipped with mental health professionals and services are designed to run, offering both individual and group counselling for children from these schools.
‍

We eventually want to create a safe space and a centre for therapy and self-development, as we grow this program in its reach and impact.

A first-ever two-day residential workshop for the students from our nursing cohort was conducted, focusing on nurturing holistic health and emotional resilience, prioritizing self-care, and ensuring a positive patient-care experience by improving communication skills and stress management.

The first batch of students in the management and business study curriculum supported under Ekam Unnati.