SAHELI E-NEWSLETTER, April 2005
Welcome to the April 2005 edition of the SAHELI e-Newsletter!
In this issue:
1. March Client Statistics
2. Helping to Heal from Sexual Violence
3. Immigrant Parent Seminar
4. Voices of Women: Auvaiyar Kuruntokai
5. Kudos for New SAHELI Volunteers
March Client Statistics
During March 2005, SAHELI received 40 calls for assistance, including
calls on the helpline and calls directly to SAHELI advocates and staff.
Calls are usually from victims/survivors, family members or friends of
victims, advocates from other agencies, potential volunteers, and
others who want more information about SAHELI.
Out of these calls, 6 were new client cases, 4 of whom received
one-time referral assistance, 1 received ongoing advocacy services, and
1 did not respond. Furthermore, SAHELI staff and advocates provided 31
face-to-face sessions for 7 clients in the month of March.
Helping to Heal from Sexual Violence
Contributed by Mamata Misra
On March 24, our community educator Ellen Parsons had organized a short
training for SAHELI advocates and Board members to discuss sexual
violence. The purpose was to make ourselves comfortable talking about
this "not talked about" topic, and to be more effective while working
with survivors of sexual violence. Sue Snyder and Abby Williamson from
SafePlace offered us valuable information and led an interactive
discussion.
One thing we learned is that sexual violence is a difficult topic to
talk about in all cultures, not just in our own. We discussed why it is
difficult for a survivor to disclose sexual violence. We started out by
defining sexual violence and then discussing the myths about sexual
violence. We looked at how we ourselves have internalized some of these
myths. We asked ourselves hard questions such as whether our own
perceptions of "good girls" and "bad girls" will influence our response
to a sexual assault survivor's needs. We discussed how we can hold our
judgment on a person, express empathy, offer help, and enable healing.
We observed similarities and differences in the needs of survivors of
sexual and nonsexual violence and that sometimes a victim may have
experienced both kinds of violence. Sue and Abby shared with us
examples of helpful and unhelpful response to a client's needs. We took
home information about the healing process and the true meaning of
healing.
Immigrant Parent Seminar
Contributed by Deepa Ramani
I attended a really good discussion presented by SAHELI's Mamata Misra
and Ellen Parsons, at the Palmer Events Center. The day was all about
celebrating families, and various seminars were presented on topics
such as parenting and marriage.
The title of SAHELI's presentation was "Family Interactions and the
Immigrant Journey". A group lead by Mamata, on one side of the room,
talked about subjects such as how being an immigrant influenced our
relationships with our children, what fears we have about being a
parent and an immigrant and how we felt we could improve as parents.
The questions posed by Mamata were very thought provoking and generated
excellent discussion. One important take-home point for me was the
importance of open and honest communication between parent and child.
Without this, children are likely to hide any issues of sexuality or
abuse they might be facing, and not seek help from their parents. I
recommitted to having healthy and open discussions about sexuality,
violence and other important topics within my family.
Another group discussed with Ellen, on the other side of the room, what
it was like to be a child of immigrants, raised in America. When the
two groups met to exchange ideas, I thought of how I could enhance my
own son's life and future by being proactive now on the issues that
were raised. I made a commitment to myself to be aware of the
challenges my son would face as a first generation immigrant in the
United States, and to work hard to achieve an honest, open,
non-judgmental, empathy-driven relationship with him.
At the end of the day, attending SAHELI's presentation has made me a
better parent!
Voices of Women: Auvaiyar Kuruntokai
Contributed by Kalpana Sutaria
Auvaiyar Kuruntokai was one of the most prolific and powerful voices of
Tamil Sangham Poetry (100 BC - 250 AD), regarded as the oldest body of
secular literature in India. This poem is from her work called "What
She Said". She wrote with equal eloquence of kings and politics, love
and war. Her poetry was translated into English by George L. Hart III.
Source: Women's Writing in India, Volume 1, 1991 Edition by Susie
Tharu and K. Lalita.
Poem
Shall I attack
These people
Shall I strike them?
I do not know
Or shall I find
Some reason
And cry out
To this city that
Sleeps not knowing
My suffering
While the moving wind
Swirls and pulls me
To and fro
Kudos for New SAHELI Volunteers
Gail Park: For her consistent presence at SAHELI Volunteer Meetings,
trainings, and motivating/fun attitude. Gail did an excellent job at
the booth for The Celebrations of Families on April 2nd. Gail was able
to listen and share SAHELI information to a man who did not support our
mission. When the man left it appeared he had gained some knowledge
and appreciated talking with Gail.
Hemant Chhajwani: For putting together the SAHELI power point for the
WALK and presenting to NAAO. Also for bringing his business sense to
SAHELI and motivation for volunteering. He has been a consistent Walk
Committee Volunteer whose work has been great!
David Kalloor: For his humorous and fun personality. Also for
participating in the Faith Community Committee. There appears to be a
strong opportunity to collaborate with his Faith Community called,
Liquid. Also he has volunteered for the Walk Committee.
Shiju Thomas: For his work spreading the Walk to the UT community and
UT organizations. Despite his very busy schedule he has been dedicated
to helping SAHELI.
Donna Adlian: For her consistent time spent volunteering for SAHELI
every week. Donna has helped in many aspects: Asian Story Time
Crafts, SAHELI Walk fundraising, and some administrative work. She has
also helped us preview videos and has spent time educating herself
about domestic violence by reading our literature and participating in
our meetings and
trainings.
Thank you so much from SAHELI! Your time and work is invaluable.
Volunteers make our agency what it is.
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