Our Mission:
Through increased awareness and togetherness, we can address important issues that are everyday challenges in South Asian countries.
Our focus is to educate our local community about South Asian countries through cultural and educational programs. We'll maintain this website to promote ongoing conversations about South Asian people, places, and cultures, helping us gain momentum and raise funds.
Immediate Goal:
Vibrant South Asian’s immediate goal is to raise awareness about the vibrant cultures that make up South Asia. This website will contain posts that feature aspects of the different cultures that are a part of this region and issues faced by the people within these countries. We will also be hosting events throughout the year which aim to educate the public about facets of these cultures.
By sharing many of the positive attributes of the region and highlighting some of the significant problems the people there face, Vibrant South Asian hopes to help break down barriers and stereotypes that can divide people. This will enable us to grow together as a community.
Long Term Goal:
Vibrant South Asian’s long-term goal is to be able to build libraries within impoverished areas of South Asia. People in South Asia face numerous challenges that can make getting an education difficult. However, education is generally the best way to rise out of poverty. We hope to alleviate several of those obstacles by providing public libraries in areas where education is viewed as a luxury that only some can access. These libraries can provide a place for children to study away from overcrowded homes, exposure to technology that may not otherwise be available, and a way for students who are unable to attend school to still learn.
As we grow, we hope to partner with other organizations that are developing remote learning courses and bring them into these libraries so that people have the opportunity to gain an education even if they cannot attend traditional schools. We look forward to being able to give back to the vibrant South Asian countries.
Meet the Team
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Sagar Shah
President & CEO
Secretary -
Murugan Palani
Chairman of the Board
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Surbhi Garg
Treasurer
Our Story
Dear Friends,
Thank you for supporting Vibrant South Asian. I’d like to share briefly about how we started.
Vibrant South Asian was inspired by the idea of breaking down stereotypes associated with South Asian countries by educating our community about positive attributes of the region. We recognized that many people in our community were enthusiastic to learn about these countries but needed guidance and resources.
While connecting our community to South Asia was important to us, we also wanted to do something to give back to the vibrant region of South Asia. Filled with rich cultures and traditions, this region is also home to areas of extreme poverty. We decided we wanted to do something to improve access to education. It seemed fitting that we would focus on educating our community about South Asia while enabling the people of that region to obtain an education that could improve their lives. We contemplated various ways of improving access to education and eventually decided to focus our efforts on building libraries in impoverished areas of the countries.
Libraries entered the discussion because my wife, Surbhi, had helped her dad build a library in the village of Dharodhi, India, while in high school. One of the things that resonated with her was the pride that the people took in having a library in their village. They may not always have access to running water or electricity, but their village was the one that had books and a computer. We also realized that a library could allow people of all ages and genders access to knowledge, something a traditional school may be unable to provide. Often, families are unable to afford tuition, school uniforms, books, or even unable to spare children an entire work day to allow them to attend school. A library allows everyone access to some form of knowledge and may even provide an opportunity for children to keep up until they can return to school. It also provides space and a quiet environment to learn and do homework in villages where many families live in overcrowded homes that are not conducive to studying.
While we were pretty sure that our contribution to the region would be libraries, it took another personal experience to cement this as the path we wanted to take. While on a trip to Agra, India, Surbhi and I visited Sheroes Cafe, a non-profit organization focused on rehabilitating acid attack victims. One of the victims that we spoke with was a bright 15-year-old girl who had been attacked when she was 12. While she spoke about her struggles, one thing she kept coming back to was how she missed out on an education because she was too ashamed to go to school soon after she was attacked. Then, after some time had passed and she realized she shouldn’t be the one who is ashamed, she felt she was too far behind to return to school. She commented on how she wished there was a way to keep up or even catch up without actually being in school. Hearing her story reaffirmed our mission that Vibrant South Asian would try to bring an alternative way to learn to as many people as possible.
Down the line, we hope to possibly partner with some of the other wonderful non-profit organizations out there that are creating remote learning opportunities. By doing so we could enable students and adults to potentially gain formal education through resources provided in our libraries.
We recognize that our goals are ambitious and it will be a challenging journey, but we are confident that with the support of our friends and family, we can make them a reality. If you have any questions about our story or our organization,n please contact us. Please enjoy the stories we share on our site from the vibrant South Asian region and help us spread the message throughout our community.
Sincerely,
Sagar Shah
President & CEO
