Ashakiran
AshaKiran was started to fill a community need and help foreign born individuals experiencing crises in Alabama to overcome barriers such as language, cultural and/or religious stigmas through education and empowerment and providing culturally sensitive services. Our mission has always been to help any foreign born individual dealing with crises, such as domestic violence and sexual assault, by providing specific culturally sensitive servicesbut we were originally limited to focusing on people with South Asian origins. That focus developed out of an initial lack of language resources. AshaKiran was found by volunteers and those dedicated individuals were comfortable providing services in South Asian languages. As the organization grew so did the number of languages we could operate in. We have achieved our mission and are now able to help any foreign born individual.
Through a variety of community and individual based confidential culturally sensitive programs and initiatives, AshaKiran provides a “ray of hope” toward building a more healthy and harmonious community.Throughout the years, AshaKiran has been fortunate to receive donations and support from various community organizations and businesses as well as several grants from state organizations such as the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), Alabama Council on Developmental Disabilities (ACDD), Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). As a result, AshaKiran has been able to bring on a few new staff and safe home members allowing an increase of services to victims/survivors and in 2015, began expanding its services throughout the state of Alabama providing additional cultural sensitivity trainings and collaborations with state and other non-profit organizations.