Daya 2017 Gala: Empowering South Asian Women

Daya Board: from left (standing): Anita Manoharan, Dinesh Pejevar, Annu Naik, Sesh Bala, Sheela Rao, and Anasuya Kabad. From left (sitting): Shaila Patel, Lakshmy Parameswaran, Viji Raman, and Vatsala Bhaskaran. Absent: Jyoti Kulkarni, Fatima Mohiuddin, Charu Verma.

Daya Board: from left (standing): Anita Manoharan, Dinesh Pejevar, Annu Naik, Sesh Bala, Sheela Rao, and Anasuya Kabad. From left (sitting): Shaila Patel, Lakshmy Parameswaran, Viji Raman, and Vatsala Bhaskaran. Absent: Jyoti Kulkarni, Fatima Mohiuddin, Charu Verma. Photos: Shlok Vaidya

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By Vanshika Vipin Varma

HOUSTON: Domestic violence is wide spread, deeply ingrained and has serious impacts on women’s health and well-being. Realizing this, in 1996, seven friends established Daya Inc., a Houston based non-profit organization that empowers South Asian women and their families who are trying to break the cycle of domestic and sexual violence and reclaim their lives. Daya empowers these women by offering counseling and advocacy, promoting community awareness and by advocating at the policy level.

This year’s gala, held on Friday, March 31, at the Junior League of Houston was no different, and very special. It was a luncheon complimented with a sophisticated venue and graceful decor. The theme of this year’s sold out event, with over 300 attendees, was ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’. The event started with a well-orchestrated dance performance by Moodafaruka, a troupe that mixed Flamenco, Middle Eastern, Spanish and Western motifs to perform a tapestry of sound. Rekha Muddaraj, the news anchor of KHOU, was the emcee at the luncheon. She welcomed everyone with her pretty smile.

Keynote Speaker Stephanie von Stein (left) with Daya Executive Director- Rachna Khare.

Keynote Speaker Stephanie von Stein (left) with Daya Executive Director- Rachna Khare.

Sesh Bala, Daya President, was then invited over to speak. Sesh was kind to acknowledge members who were the backbone support for this grand gala. He commended the Daya board, the advisory board members, the staff and volunteers. He proudly stated, “Daya is maturing as an organization. Having begun with volunteers, it is now a staff run organization from a board run organization”. He then transparently shared insights about Daya fundings, stating that two thirds of Daya’s funding comes from private foundations and the Government. “The annual budget granted at $25,000 six years ago, has grown to almost $600,000”, he said. The remaining one third of the funding is received from the ‘generous community’, as he refers them. Sesh acknowledged the gala co-chairs and prominent community members, Annu Naik, Farida Abjani, and Sippi Khurana and thanked them for their dedication and hard work.

The next speaker was Daya’s Executive Director, Rachna Khare. Firstly she cleared the misconception that in today’s world the number of women facing domestic violence is very low. Several shocked expressions were noticed across the hall when Rachna shared the statistics of domestic violence. This year Daya managed to help 286 of such victims. She went ahead to share details about how they helped each and every survivor, by being focused on them individually. She cited an example of a woman who was rescued immediately after she gave birth to her baby, from her violent husband. And now the mother and her child live independently with constant help and counseling from Daya. Rachna shared many such examples that helped the audience understand how Daya has made a difference to the lives of these domestic violence victims, referred to as ‘Survivors’.

Gala Co-chairs: from left: Farida Abjani, Sippi Khurana, and Annu Naik.

Gala Co-chairs: from left: Farida Abjani, Sippi Khurana, and Annu Naik.

The next speaker was one of these ‘Survivors’, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons. She had moved to Canada from India after getting married. Later they moved to America when her husband wanted to pursue his career. Her expectations were simple- to lead a happy family life. But she was in for a rude shock when things started taking a drastic change. Little did she know that she would become a victim of domestic violence. She was in a helpless situation without work authorization and dependency on her husband. Tears rolled down her eyes as she said, “During my marriage I was a victim of physical, emotional, financial and immigration abuse by my ex husband”. She could not leave the country as her son was born and she would have had to let go of her child if she broke the relationship. After a lot of hesitation, she connected with Daya, and immediately found hope towards building a bright future for herself and her son. Some of the audience members were reduced to tears when she mentioned how Daya helped her get out of the situation and made her hopeful again. Today, she has a work authorization, and lives independently with her son, and receives constant support from Daya, who she considers as her family. Rekha Muddaraj brought back some cheer as she came up on stage and encouraged all the attendees to donate generously. She explained in depth how donor dollars could change the course of a person’s life, and copies of this were also presented to everyone in form of an envelope. This was followed by a few testimonials from the ‘survivors’ of Daya in a video.

The keynote speaker of the day, a domestic violence victim, Stephanie Von Stein, described her horrifying story. At the age around 40 she got married and pregnant, and was advised bed rest. Her husband tortured her often by screaming at her, pulling her hair and pushing her around the bathroom. “This became quite a routine”, said Stephanie, who stood tall and confident while addressing the audience. It was frightful to know how a well-accomplished professional, holding a high power job with hundreds of employees under her, could also become a domestic violence victim. But she said, “ It could happen to anybody, it happened to me, I was strong, smart and had a great family, but I loved and trusted someone wrong”.

She cried while she spoke about her incidents in detail, and the struggle she faces even today, leaving the entire hall numb. She applauded Daya for the outstanding work they have been doing to help the victims of domestic violence, a global issue reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic cultural, racial and class distinctions. It is a relief to have a re-assurance that help is handy.

Her emotional yet strong message was followed by a scrumptious lunch and dessert, finally concluding with a vote of thanks by the gala co-chairs, Annu Naik, Farida Abjani, and Sippi Khurana.

More about Daya Inc.
Daya Inc. is a Houston based nonprofit organization that addresses the immediate safety and shelter needs of South Asian women and their children who are being battered, abused or at risk of being victimized, and provides follow-up services to help women create abuse-free homes. Daya fields over 6000 calls and serves over 300 clients annually. All of Daya’s services are free and confidential, and are extended to non-traditional families as well.

Daya can be reached on their helpline: 713-981-7645 or website www.dayahouston.org