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SAHELI FOR ASIAN FAMILIES
Envisioning a society built on the strength
of healthy relationships
Welcome to the April 2006 edition of the SAHELI
e-Newsletter!
In this issue:
(1) What’s Happening in Community Education
(2) Community Education Events in March
(3) From the Family Advocate
(4) Annual Walk for Safe Families and Safe Streets
(5) Sexual Awareness Month
(6) Upcoming Events
What’s Happening in Community Education
SAHELI stands behind its mission to help and empower
Asian victims and survivors of domestic abuse, improve their access
to services and increase community awareness of various forms of
violence and oppression.
To fulfill its mission, SAHELI makes concentrated
efforts to inform the Austin Asian community about our services
and programs, with the ultimate goal of increasing community awareness
about the effects of abuse.
To this end, we continue to make presentations to
the community – schools, community and cultural centers, churches,
universities, and other groups – about our mission. We do
this with the hope that those most in need become aware of our services.
If you know of any groups that may be interested
in a SAHELI presentation, or if you are interested in being involved
in making presentations to the community, please contact Sonia Ladha
at 512-356-1565, or sladha@saheli-austin.org.
Topics include: Strengthening Intergenerational
Connections, Effective Parenting Skills, Special Needs for Immigrants,
Building Healthy Relationships, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Issues in the Asian Community, and financial, educational, and employment
seminars.
Community Education events in March
SAHELI celebrated the start of Spring and the cultivation
of healthy relationships with a Spring Family Festival. The festival
was held on March 25th and was fun for everyone involved.
Over 100 members of the community came and enjoyed
the entertainment, food, arts and crafts, informational booths,
and children’s activities. Crowds were entertained by Austin
Taiko, Austin Karate’s Martial Arts Demonstration, and dancers
from the Natyalaya School of Dance. Between entertainment, crowds
ate delicious food from Bombay Bistro and snacked on tasty egg rolls
and spring rolls from Tam’s Deli. Crowds also enjoyed scrumptious
Asian noodles, thanks to the cooking efforts of volunteer Silvia
Ladha. The kids (and adults!) were entertained with creative crafts,
henna, and face-painting. Adults had a wonderful opportunity to
learn about the local social services with in the Austin community,
and everyone enjoyed the arts and crafts for sale, including clothing,
jewelry, and Asian ornamentals. And last but not least, the peer
theater was the biggest success of the day, with audience members
involved whole-heartedly in the activities of the participatory
peer theater.
On March 8th, we tabled at a Vagina Monologues performance
at the University of Texas. These events are always a good opportunity
to inform the greater Austin community of our organization. This
event, hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center, drew over 200
people.
On March 26th, SAHELI sat on a panel that spoke
to Liquid ACC, a local church in the Austin area. The panel addressed
the various ways in which the church could become more involved
in those social justice issues they may not be aware of. The event
was enlightening for all involved, and reached over 250 people.
On March 29th, we spoke to 23 members of NAAO, raising
awareness not only about our organization, but also the upcoming
Walk for Safe Streets and Safe Families.
From the Family Advocate
During March 2006, SAHELI received 26 calls on the helpline.
Calls are usually from victims/survivors, existing clients, family
members or friends of victims, advocates from other agencies, potential
volunteers, and others who want more information about SAHELI.
Of these calls 6 were from new clients who are receiving
ongoing advocacy services, and 2 were from new clients who received
one-time referral assistance.
Annual Walk for Safe Families and Safe Streets
The Walk for Safe Families and Safe Streets is this Saturday, April
22nd!
Come join us at Waterloo Park in downtown Austin
from 10 a.m. The Walk itself starts at noon and is a great family-friendly
event. Children, strollers and pets are welcome.
As our largest awareness campaign of the year, SAHELI
currently has 51 individuals who have registered for the Walk. We
also have the following 11 teams, some new and some returning, registered
for the Walk:
Team ATX
Austin Physicians for Social Responsibility
Dell Asians in Motion
Ellen Stars
Modern Kempo Martial Arts
Sleep Walkers
Super Friends
Svell Team
Team Muki
Texas Access Alliance Walk Team
Tigers
As our biggest fundraising campaign of the year,
SAHELI’s goal is to raise $25,000 this year. As of today,
with received donations and pledges, we are at $8,522. That’s
33% of our goal!
As a thank you to all our teams and walkers who
make this campaign a success every year, this year the SAHELI Walk
Chairs would like to offer individual Walkers and Team Captains:
A SAHELI T-shirt for raising $150 - $299
A SAHELI Cookbook OR SAHELI T-shirt for raising $300 - $499
A SAHELI T-shirt AND Cookbook for raising $500 - $999
A Walk Appreciation Dinner featuring recipes from
the SAHELI Cookbook (may be substituted by a SAHELI T-shirt AND
cookbook) for raising $1,000 or more
If you want to walk for SAHELI or donate to the
Walk, visit the SAHELI website at www.saheli-austin.org. For questions
and information, e-mail walk@saheli-austin.org or call 356-1658.
See you on Saturday at Waterloo Park!
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is observed in April
and is the month dedicated to making a concerted effort to prevent
and raise awareness of sexual violence and its prevention. Recognizing
Sexual Assault Awareness Month each year highlights sexual violence
as a major public health problem and reinforces the need for prevention
efforts.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)
every two and a half minutes someone in American is sexually assaulted.
Survivors may suffer physical, psychological and emotional trauma
for years following the incident.
The purpose of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is
to increase the public's understanding about sexual violence in
our society. It is also a time to encourage the public to take steps
to address sexual violence.
For more information, visit http://www.nsvrc.org/saam
Upcoming Events
Take Back the Night on April 21st
Take Back the Night on April 21 at 6:30pm at Gregory Plaza!
Sexual Assault survivors and allies will have a chance to 'Break
the Silence' at Take Back the Night 2006. Take Back the Night is
an annual rally to raise awareness about sexual assault and provide
a safe, community environment for sexual assault survivors to share
their stories.
Take Back the Night will include music and entertainment
from Facundo's
Night Out, a resource fair with local and state
nonprofits, student speakers, slam poetry performances, and a keynote
address. Texas Representative Donna Howard will speak at the event
about resources available to survivors of sexual assault based on
her background as a nurse. The rally will conclude with a Survivor
Speak-Out, which is a rare opportunity for survivors of sexual assault
to publicly share their stories. By creating an open space for survivors
to share their experiences, supporters and community members help
to tear away the veil of silence surrounding sexual assault in our
community.
Documentary “Tales of the Night Fairies”–
April 26th
The South Asia Institute and SAHELI are co-sponsoring
‘Tales of the Night Fairies’, a documentary by film
maker Shohini Ghosh.
Five sex-workers - four women and one man - along
with the filmmaker/narrator embark on a journey of storytelling.
Tales of the Night Fairies explores the power of collective organizing
and resistance while reflecting upon contemporary debates around
sexwork. The simultaneously expansive and labyrinthine city of Calcutta
forms the backdrop for the personal and musical journeys of storytelling.
The Documentary will be screened at the University
of Texas. Parlin Hall, Room 1 at 7:00 p.m.
For more details, please contact Sonia Ladha at
512-356-1565 or sladha@saheli-austin.org
Volunteer Training – May 6th
Please join us for the next SAHELI volunteer training,
to be held May 6th, from 1-4 pm. The training will be held in the
SafePlace community room.
This training is required for those interested in
community education, doing research, interpreting, and/or working
with our children's programs. Also, please feel free to join us
if you are just interested in learning more about family violence
in Asian cultures or feel like you want a refresher.
Come and get to know others in the community who
share your interests! Snacks will be provided!!
Please call or email me your RSVP. Sonia Ladha at
512-356-1565 or sladha@saheli-austin.org
This e-Newsletter will soon be available at our
website www.saheli-austin.org.
If you wish to be taken off this mailing list, please email us at
newsletter@saheli-austin.org.
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