Helping South Asian Women Escape Domestic Violence
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2. Dear Friends of Narika,
It is an exciting and challenging time for Narika as we continue to expand our volunteer base and develop
innovative programs. The demand for our services continues to increase exponentially. We work tirelessly
to meet this demand, while striving to raise awareness about the plight of many women in our
communities.
Narika’s mission is to break the barriers surrounding domestic violence, especially in the South Asian
communities located in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. As the leading non‐profit in our area of
outreach services and scope of assistance offerings, we are making a difference in the lives of hundreds of
women each year with a small, but efficient, staff and our dedicated volunteer base.
From just a Helpline staffed by a few volunteers sitting in a basement, Narika has blossomed into a full‐
fledged network of proven, established and welcoming programs geared towards helping women and their
children living amidst domestic violence.
More than 20,000 women in the San Francisco Bay Area are victims of domestic violence each year.
Physical injuries. Verbal abuse. Sexual assault. Loss of life. Domestic violence transcends and affects all
socio‐economic levels, education and generations. It affects many lives. One out of every three women in the
world has experienced violence in an intimate relationship at some point in her life. Studies suggest that
around the world between 3.3 and 10 million children witness some form of domestic abuse annually. These
are staggering statistics. We must work together—women, men, in‐laws, siblings, friends and respected
leaders—to make a difference. Join Narika as we strive to keep our communities healthy and strong, now
and for future generations.
We need you in order to continue and expand our service offerings. A third of Narika’s annual budget
comes from individual contributions. Narikaʹs operating and administrative costs are covered by grants,
and individual contributions go directly towards supporting programs and services. You can rest assured,
when you give to Narika, you’re giving to the people who need the help.
For those of you familiar with us, thank you for standing by the Narika family. If you’re just learning about
Narika—welcome! As Narika’s interim executive director, I present this report to you on behalf of our
dedicated staff, caring volunteers, generous donors, and numerous survivors. This is an open invitation to
share in our accomplishments, learn about our outreach programs and services, hear from our
participants, and assist us in our future endeavors.
Thank you,
Sutapa Balaji
Interim Executive Director
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3. ABOUT NARIKA
Narika was founded in 1992 to address the problem of domestic
violence in the South Asian community. Embracing the notion of
women's empowerment, Narika set out to address the unmet needs of
abused South Asian women by providing advocacy, support,
information, and referrals within a culturally sensitive model. We serve
women who trace their origins to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and diasporic communities such as Fiji and the
Caribbean.
NARIKA’S MISSION
Narika's mission is to promote the empowerment of women in our
community to confront and overcome the cycles of domestic violence OUR WORK
and exploitation. We work to build a movement to end violence against
women and to support women's rights as human rights.
Narika has evolved from a basic
“Narika’s commitment to our community grounds me in the rest of my life. Helpline staffed by a few volunteers
As clients and volunteers, we all share a common desire to build a peaceful to a collaborative, community-
life for ourselves and those whom we love. Every time I witness the focused, educational organization.
The dedicated staff and many
strength and laughter of the women who have survived such incredible
volunteers help women navigate a
hardships, I am reminded that my own strengths and laughter have yet to myriad of abusive situations, offering
be fully tapped.” classes; financial support; legal
-Shanta, a six year veteran of Narika’s volunteer program immigration and housing referrals;
and sensitive human interaction.
NARIKA MAKES AN IMPACT
Calls to Narika’s core service–the toll-free Geographic Distribution of Calls
Helpline–continue to grow. Women call
Narika for help, information, referrals, and
sometimes just to talk and unburden
themselves to another woman who speaks
their language and understands their
culture. In the last year, Narika received 1,250
calls and served 325 clients.
Total number of calls received: 1,250
Total number of clients served: 325
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4. Narika’s Violence Prevention Framework
Community Outreach and SEED – South Asian Economic
Education Empowerment and Development
An important part of Narika’s mission is to prevent The SEED program is designed to foster women’s
domestic violence by providing community economic independence through the development of
members with education and resources to lead leadership skills and the encouragement of personal
violence-free lives. and professional growth. It seeks to present women in
potentially abusive situations with the opportunity to
become economically independent so that they may live
and raise their children in an atmosphere free of
violence and abuse.
Classroom based trainings in ESL, computers, financial
literacy, resume writing and job search are offered three
times a year in Fremont, San Francisco and San Pablo.
Since the inception of the program in 2002, 160 women
have completed the program.
Narika provides women the tools to succeed and helps them, as appropriate, remove themselves from abusive
environments. Narika is working through women to promote happy, healthy families. Ending family violence
ultimately helps children foster strong cultural ties and stay affiliated with their communities.
This was my life…
I was not allowed to talk to my friends or go out of the house alone. Anytime I disagreed with my husband, he would get
angry, yell, and call me names. So, I stopped disagreeing altogether. One day, he tried to strangle me while I was still holding
my infant daughter in my arms. When I tried to call the police, he went to the kitchen, picked up a knife and threatened, “I’ll
cut you up into pieces and then kill myself. What will the police do then?”
I confided in a colleague, who gave me Narika’s number. The Narika advocate listened to me and helped me realize this was
not a normal situation. They helped me move into a shelter and, although it was hard sharing a living space with strangers, a
Narika volunteer was there for me whenever I wanted to speak to someone during this difficult time.
I don’t want my daughter to grow up thinking what her father did to me was acceptable. I want her to believe in her own self
worth and never accept such abuse in her own life. It takes guts to accept you are in a domestic violence situation. I finally
realized I had to leave – not only for myself, but also for my daughter.
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5. Narika’s 2009-10 Financial Summary
(As of June 30, 2010)
Revenue by Category ASSETS
Current Bank Accounts $15,892
Assets Accounts Receivable $59,577
Prepaid Expenses $48
Total Current Assets $75,517
Fixed Book Value $350
Assets
Other Deposits $2,664
Assets
Total Assets $78,531
LIABILITIES & FUND BALANCES
Current Accounts Payable $18,660
Liabilities
Fund Balance $59,871
Total Liabilities and Fund Balance $78,531
Online: It’s fast and easy to donate online. Visit www.narika.org
Go to Support – Donate and use your credit card via secure link
Or, download the online donation form and fax/email it per the instructions
Send a Check: Make the check payable to Narika at P.O. Box 14014, Berkeley, CA 94712
Donate Stocks
Donate Your Old Car
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6. Our Team at Narika
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Manju Seal, President
Neerja Bhutani, Treasurer
Megha Sahgal, Secretary
Rom Srinivasan
Devika Patil
STAFF
Sutapa Balaji
Roopa Mohan
Shrimalie Perera
Dimple George
Community Collaborative Partners
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Asian Women’s Shelter
Shimtuh-Korean Community Center of the East Bay
Asian Pacific Islander Institute of Domestic Violence
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Maitri
SEMAH
NISA
SAVE
The Hume Center
India Community Center
Pakistani Amercian Community Center
Fremont Resource Center
City of Fremont
Contra Costa Community College
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