About EETHAL Foundation

Our Mission

EETHAL strives to empower the underprivileged youth of the world by improving their education using technology and language training. By helping them acquire specific language skills, we attempt to unlock their potential by having them learn naturally and access world class educational materials and high quality information that are freely available online. On the flip side, EETHAL also strives to enable first generation youth in developed countries to connect with their native roots better by learning and practicing their mother tongue for practical purposes.

Purpose

There are already a number of great organizations working to improve education. Why do we need yet another organization instead of joining an existing one and help them with their mission?

Languages are more than just a tool for human communication. They are also a means by which one can:

• Get a solid foundational education
• Acquire knowledge and skills that will help them achieve their goals
• Connect with the cultural roots of their community and shared history

In many parts of the Non-English speaking world, children are required to have bilingual skills to compete with the rest of the world. This can be accomplished by:

• Get primary education (K-12) in a medium of language that the student speaks at home. For many rural students across the world, it’s their native mother tongue. By learning the basic subjects such as Mathematics and Sciences in a language they are most familiar with, they are also able to understand the fundamental concepts properly without rote memorization.
• At the same time, teach them practical English language skills as they enter middle school/high school years. Having practical English language skills is often a great enabler for their future academic and professional success.

On the other side of the coin, EETHAL foundation also strives to impart native language skills to children growing up outside of their mother country. Having these children acquire native language skills help them:

• Connect with their roots by being able to better communicate with their relatives and others in their mother country.
• Better access to the writings from great leaders and thinkers from their own civilization, from ancient to modern times.

By its unique structure, EETHAL attempts to satisfy these dual objectives of empowering underprivileged children as well as exposing children in privileged environments to their roots at the same time via hands-on programs.

What We Do

As of Jan 2026, we have the following programs:

Translation Programs: First generation teen volunteers from North America work together as teams to translate high quality content from English to native languages. Our current focus is on content for Tamil learners, including Khan Academy videos, StoryWeaver books, and TED-Ed videos. These resources are made available for students in non-English speaking regions.

Spoken English Programs: Adult and teen volunteers teach foundational spoken English to students in rural areas online, helping them develop practical English skills for academic and professional advancement.

Summer Learning: In summer, we offer special programs to help our young volunteers use their extra time for additional learning through fun activities. In the past, we have offered online courses on 3D printing, organized in-person visits to NASA, and ran creative competitions.

What Does EETHAL Mean?

EETHAL (ஈதல்) is a Tamil word that means “Giving.” It represents our core value of giving back to the community.

EETHAL also stands for Education and Empowerment THrough Applied Languages.