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HOUSTON: DAYA Inc. is pleased to introduce its new President and Executive Committee for 2010 - 2011. This year’s officers are Nighat Ahmed, President; Purvi Patel Secretary; and Viji Ramen and Sesh Bala, Co- treasurers. Current staff members at DAYA are Meghna Goswami, client coordinator, Nusrat Ameen, transitional home coordinator, and Amber Riaz, outreach coordinator. Nighat is a long time resident of Houston and has been an active volunteer in various civic organizations both South Asian and American. She has been involved with DAYA for the last five years.
DAYA has been the Houston South Asian community’s strongest voice against domestic violence for over a decade. It conducts educational programs throughout the community and provides numerous services to individual victims. In 2009, DAYA served over 200 individual clients, the vast majority of whom are of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin.
A total of $15,000 in financial assistance was distributed among to individual victims. Clients of DAYA may receive counseling, legal referrals, volunteer translators, employment assistance, and a host of other services designed to help victims escape their abusers and begin living independently. Moreover, in 2007, DAYA began operating a transitional residence to temporarily house victims who had left their abusive homes but were not yet able to find homes of their own. The availability of such housing for DAYA clients removes one of the major obstacles that victims face when trying to escape their abusers.
Unfortunately, since October of 2009, DAYA was no longer able to maintain the transitional residence. Re-establishing the transitional residence will be one of the goals of the incoming Executive Committee.
DAYA owes much of its success to generous contributions from the Indo-American Charity Foundation, the Houston Endowment, the Simmons Foundation , and the Bill and Andrea White Foundation, as well as countless individuals from throughout the community who consistently donate time, money, and resources in support of DAYA’s work. New fundraising initiatives will be a major focus for the Executive Committee in 2010, as we strive to maintain our high quality services in today’s struggling economy. |
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