Anu Chitrapu, president of Vision Aid who is involved in many local charities, is the chair of the event. Dr. Manju Sheth, president of IMANE, has been instrumental in this Saheli-IMANE collaboration.

 

“I have been closely involved with Saheli for many years and was the co-chair of their first fund raiser in 2010,” said Dr. Sheth. “As president of IMANE, it was an honor for me to bring these two wonderful organizations together for benefit of our community. As physicians we always feel our job is incomplete if we only treat the physical and emotional injuries related to domestic violence. Saheli helps us complete this picture by empowering these women so they can get trained, get jobs and take care of their families. I cannot think of a better collaboration. It is truly a privilege to be part of this great event.”

 

Funds raised from Nirbhaya will be used to send several women to vocational training courses that will put them on the path to independence. Needed mentoring will also be provided to ensure the women are successful in completing these courses and finding employment upon completion. While a few programs, like paralegal training and medical assistant training have been identified, Saheli will put together a portfolio of course options that women can pick from based on their skills and interest. The goal is to raise somewhere north of $40,000 during the Sept. 20^th event.

 

This fundraising has been put together by dedicated team of volunteers. The gala committee, which consists of Dr. Sapna Aggarwal, Sumana Bhat, Dr. Deepa Jhaveri, Dr. Sumi Manwani, Dr. Meera Subramaniam, Rekha Singh, Eshani Shah and Neelam Wali and Dr Subha Thiagrajan, has been working for many months  to make sure the event is a super success.

 

A short, classy and uplifting program has been planned to bring out the message of the evening. Meghna Chakraborti from WBUR, local affiliate of National Public Radio, will serve as anchor for the evening. The program includes a candlelight dance by Maya Delity, Harshini Joshi, Madhu Nene, Anu Saxena, Rhea Manwani, Sumi Manwani; a soul-stirring dance piece by Mouli Pal; songs by Shraddha Agrawal, Sankar Gangaikondan, Sudha Rao, Uma Sankar, Mohan Subramaniam and Meena Sundaram accompanied by Tarun Bangalore, Pranav Ghatraju and Sahana Srinivasan. A special honor for all is the fact that renowned musician Tara Anand has provided guidance and expertise with the music arrangement. Well known community activist Preetesh Srivastva will conduct the pledge drive.

 

There will also be a launch of the Saheli Men’s Initiative by Ramesh Advani and Manish Patel. Details will be shared at the event.

So many local businesses have stepped forward offering their services complimentary for the event. Shobha Shastry is once again adding her magic touch with her splendid decorations. Vinod Kapoor of Masala Art is sponsoring the delicious food. DJ Yogz will for the third time have great dance music and add fun to the evening. Neelam Wali is working extremely hard in printing flyers, invitations, brochures. Bollywood Delights is bringing delicious Kulfi. Sudeshna Das has designed the artistic flyers and brochure.

 

The Nirbhaya team touched at the overwhelming support from community, their faith and belief in the cause. The team has already sold over 300 tickets for the event. The Saheli team and volunteers, who are looking forward to welcoming everyone at the event, all dream of the day when Saheli’s services would no longer be needed. That would be the day when there are no more cases of domestic violence and women are living their lives to the fullest with no fear.

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