Narika Annual Report - 2011
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The Narika Annual Report summarizes the organization's activities over the past year. It states that Narika has continued providing critical services to survivors of domestic violence despite ongoing economic challenges. The report highlights that Narika's helpline responded to over 1410 calls and provided case management and advocacy to 191 women. It also discusses Narika's SEED program which empowers women through education and skills training. Looking ahead, Narika plans to continue its core programs while diversifying funding sources and increasing community outreach.
Narika Annual Report - 2011
- 1. Narika Annual Report Looking Back A letter from NARIKA Board of Directors This past year has been a challenging one for Narika and our community members. The ongoing economic crisis has continued to exert pressure on many of our families and has profoundly impacted survivors of violence and their children. There are fewer resources for survivors to find either shelter or affordable housing, gain economic independence and meet their basic needs. As always, Narika has worked diligently to provide critical services for intervention and prevention. Our staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to help create safety plans and opportunities for empowerment and to reach the goal of building communities without violence. Narika's resilience in the face of external challenges, amidst organizational challenge of staff and board transition this past year, is both reassuring and remarkable. If you are not familiar with the quality of services and support our staff and volunteers provide, join us in the coming year by volunteering, or helping to fundraise, or just come by to say hello at a community event. We are proud of our organization and grateful to the vast network of people who support it and its activities. In the coming year, we will continue to provide core programmatic services of Helpline and SEED and explore alliances across issues and communities to address the sources of gender violence and inequity in South Asian communities. We invite you to renew your commitment to both elements of our mission at Narika: To empower women in our community to confront and overcome the cycles of domestic violence and exploitation, and To build a movement to end violence against women and actively support women's rights as human rights Though these appear to be lofty goals for one small organization, Narika has always been more than its staff, volunteers and board, more than its balance sheet and call logs. Narika has always been about you - our community of allies, friends, warriors, survivors, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers. Narika is about all of us who are committed to seeing a world without family violence, a world in which every family member can thrive.
- 2. Our Journey - The strength of sisterhood Narika was founded in 1992 to confront the problem of domestic violence in the South Asian community. Embracing the notion of womens empowerment, Narika set out to address the unmet needs of abused South Asians within a culturally sensitive and linguistically diverse model, which includes treating women who seek our services as sisters rather than as clients. We serve women who originate from the South Asian countries and diaspora of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Fiji Islands. Our Core Goal - Building Movement, Ending Violence through advocacy, empowerment and activism... Advocacy Narikas Helpline offers support, advocacy, referrals, and information to women dealing with domestic violence and human trafficking. Narika staff work with trained volunteers to assist callers in gaining access to resources and referrals to shelters, medical care, mental health and social services, housing assistance, and pro bono or low cost legal services for a variety of issues, including divorce, immigration, and child custody. Narika continues to excel at its core mission. In the past year, advocates and volunteers responded to over 1410 calls on our toll-free helpline, and provided assistance to over 191 women with case management, referrals and advocacy. Empowerment Narika's economic empowerment program, SEED, continues to empower women so that each woman can build a violence-free life for herself and her children. The SEED program attempts to end the cycle of violence by promoting a model of peer education and mentoring that assists in building their self-confidence and skill development. Through its classroom-based peer to peer learning approach and teaching by qualified instructors, SEED provides training in personal financial literacy, basic computer skills, English language skills, health awareness and career building skills. Since 2002, over 200 women have successfully completed the SEED program. They have pursued higher education and skilled level jobs, started their own businesses, and become financially more independent. Here are some thoughts and reflections from SEED participants: "Now I can do things on my own", "Now I can smile and talk (in English), earlier I could not smile since I was so nervous", I am confident because I learned English through SEED; now I want to do things independently and, I have learned that the sky is the limit. If you want to do or learn anything, you will. Activism Narikas staff and volunteers have been working consistently to bring our vision of violence-free living to the community through a series of outreach and prevention programs directed at diverse populations throughout the Bay Area. We have participated in many events in the Bay Area that focused on issues central to our mission including, Vivah Wedding Expo (San Mateo), Sevathon (Sunnyvale), Narika's Workshop on Gender Preference and Sex Selection (Fremont), 3rd I Film Festival (San Francisco), and Bhutanese Community Training (Oakland). Through our outreach program, we provide training and technical assistance to health practitioners and law enforcement agencies to effectively address domestic violence using a culturally conscientious approach. In 2011, we were a strong presence in 20 different cities through 50 events.
- 3. Our Intervention - Engaging communities to create a world without violence Human Trafficking Narika is one of the three lead agencies in the Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative (AATC), the other two being Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO) and the Asian Women's Shelter (AWS) to expand crucial services to victims of human trafficking in the Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian communities. The Collaborative provides comprehensive services including emergency shelter, housing, legal counsel, employment, social services and the support they need to move forward with their lives. Unlike domestic violence services, our trafficking services include men and women, regardless of their age or country of origin. AATC builds the capacity of organizations and communities to respond to the needs of trafficking victims through training and technical assistance. Sex Selection and Gender Preference Narika's mission to prevent gender violence also includes prevention work related to sex selection and gender preference. In collaboration with and support from Generations Ahead, a partner agency and leader in this field, Narika has been able to work directly with South Asian medical practitioners to uncover the depth of the problem of sex selection and initiate a dialogue among community members about the systemic abuse that persists. This partnership also enabled Narika to host the first workshop on gender preference and the continued prevalence of sex selective treatments in Bay Area's South Asian Community with expert panelists, Sujatha Jesudasan, Dr. Sunita Puri and Dr. Raka Ray. Building and Strengthening Relationships Given the deteriorating state and federal budget challenges, Narika is working diligently to diversify the organization's funding base. The current organizational focus is to strengthen the existing relationships with corporate foundations and to create new relationships with the technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also of immediate priority is intensifying the outreach efforts to make Narika's work visible not only within South Asian communities but also the community at large. It takes a Team and a Community Running to Stop Domestic Violence I first got involved with Narika in 2007 through the annual Human Race of Silicon Valley. The profound impact such violence has on those affected and those involved, even peripherally, is deeper than words can express. I wanted to help instill hope in people who have suffered violence. I wanted to help them heal and move on, and discover that they were stronger than they had ever known. I have been a Narika helpline volunteer for one-and-a-half years now. I help out in other areas like fundraising, event tabling, teaching at the SEED program (that helps foster womens economic independence) and Shalu, Helpline and SEED Volunteer planning holiday parties for Narikas clients. And, of course, I continue to run for Narika! On empowering and becoming empowered Being with Narika - being able to help clients with their issues just by making them think differently, helping them make positive changes in some of their attitudes and perceptions - has helped me become a better person. It has given meaning to my life. I feel like Im contributing toward making the world a better place. Sabita, Helpline & Outreach Volunteer
- 4. Revenue by Category Statement of Income & Expenses As of June 30, 2011 Assets Private Foundations Current Assets Cash in Bank $138,001.47 $78,200 Accounts receivables $90,977.00 24% Government Grants Prepaid expenses $1,618.47 $164,431 51% Total Current Assets $230,596.94 Fundraising $77,729 Other Assets $2,664.95 24% Total Assets $233,261.89 Liabilities and Fund Balances Total Revenue: 320,360.00 Current Liabilities Accounts payable $16,406.80 Fund balances $216,855.09 Total Liabilities $233,261.89 Community Partners Afghan Coalition Dress for Success Sahayeta University of California, Berkeley 3rd I Asian Americans/Pacific Fremont Resource Center SEMAH, Inc. Islanders in Philanthropy Generations Ahead Shimtuh - Korean Asian Pacific Islander Institute Community Center of the of Domestic Violence India Community Center East Bay Asian Pacific Islander Legal Maitri South Asian Americans Outreach Leading Together North American Islamic Asian Womens Shelter Shelter for Abused South Asian Bar Association California Partnership to End Palo Alto Medical Foundation South Asian Giving Circle Domestic Violence Safe Alternatives to Violent South Asian Sisters Contra Costa Community Environments College The Hume Center Board of Directors Staff Manju Seal, Founder of Isospinn Inc. Sutapa Balaji, Interim Executive Director Neerja Bhutani, Founder and principal of Bhutani Palmin Financial Dimple George, Office and Volunteer Coordinator Planning LLC Suparna Kudesia, SEED Program Coordinator Priya Kasturi, Founder and principal of Inform LLC Roopa Mohan, Director of Client Services Ramesh Kathanadhi, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Shwanika Narayan, Outreach Coordinator Transforming Communities Shrimalie Perera, Grants and Program Director Vandana Kumar, Publisher of India Currents Simrun Sandhu, Client Advocate Dr. Gayathri Sundar, Senior Planning Analyst for San Francisco Human Divya Vohra, Client Advocate Services Agency Collaborate & Connect: Post Office Box 14014 Berkeley, California 94712 Email: narika@narika.org www.narika.org Narika Helpline: 1.800.215.7308 Donate or Support: 510.444.6068 Online: Its fast and easy to donate online. Visit www.narika.org Send a Check: Make the check payable to Narika at P.O. Box 14014, Berkeley, CA 94712