FIS Participates in Oral History Meet
Left to Right: Krishna Vavilala, Chairman, Foundation for India Studies (FIS), Hiren Sarma, Board Member,FIS, Dr. Jesse Esparza, Vice-president of the Board of the Texas Oral History Association (TOHA) and Professor in Dept. of History at Texas Southern University (TSU), Mary C. Kahle, President of TOHA, Tomiko Meeks, Board Member of TOHA, and Sudhakar Tallavajhula, Board Member of FIS.,
HOUSTON: On September 10,2022, Foundation for India Studies (FIS) has participated in the 11th. Annual Conference of the Texas Oral History Association (TOHA ). The Conference was held for two consecutive days in the Gregory School and the Holocaust Museum in Houston. FIS Board member, Hiren Sarema FIS made a power point presentation about the origins and progress of FIS’s Indo-American Oral History project to a room full of enthusiastic audience, assisted by Sudhakar Tallavajhula, also a board member of FIS.
Hiren began the presentation by thanking TOHA organization for awarding FIS the 2019 Mary Faye Barnes Award for Excellence for Community History projects in their San Antonio Conference. TOHA is a 39 year old organization which operates from the Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
There were many questions in the Q&A session from the enthusiastic audience.
The Indo-American Oral History project is a Signature project of the Foundation for India Studies Inc., a non-profit 501(c3) organization registered in Houston, Texas. Phase-1 of the project was aimed at collecting Oral histories of 100 first generation Indian immigrants, settled in the greater metropolitan Houston area and Phase-2 of the project will capture the hopes and aspirations of the second generation Indians raised here. So far sixty two (62) interviews have been collected in Phase-1.Phase-2 is yet to begin.
FIS is actively seeking volunteers and also to fill certain Board positions particularly coming from the states of Bihar, Orissa, Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu.
Those interested to join FIS Board and serve the community are encouraged to contact Mr. Krishna Vavilala @ 713-795-5169 / email: kvavilala1@gmail.com .
For more information about FIS, please visit FIS website:www.foundationfoindiastudies.org and for participation in the Oral History project, please call Sudhakar Tallavajhula @ 832-498-5263 (Cell) / email: sudhakar27@hotmail.