I have been involved with India Association of New Hampshire (IANH) for quite some time. I was impressed with IANH’s involvement with public service. Being the chair person for Public Service, I was approached by a woman who needed help with domestic violence issues. As I looked into getting help for her, I found the nearest South Asian group Saheli to be based in Massachusetts. I attended some of Saheli’s meeting and found a great group of women who have been the driving force behind it. They are really compassionate about empowering women.

With some dedicated women from New Hamphsire, we formed a Saheli/NH in partnership with Saheli/Boston. Saheli NH has offered English as a second Language (ESL) classes and Basic Computer classes to help women develop social and employable skills. We have held a Skin Care workshop for fun to promote awareness of women’s issues. IANH has a strong youth group and we did the workshop on Skin Care with them to bring awareness about domestic violence issue not just in the family but with teen dating.

The Indian Population in NH, especially Nashua has grown tremendously in the last few years. As immigrants we bring our culture and beliefs with us. The laws in this country are different than in India. My hope is to break the cycle of violence. We are trying to do that by empowering women.

All calls made to Saheli are confidential. As a Saheli advocate we can refer you to the appropriate agencies that can help you. For further information you can contact me at Barinder@aol.com.