Apna Ghar Fundraiser collects $ 125,000

One can hardly believe that a small step taken a couple of decades ago by a few women activists to combat domestic violence and marital abuse to the women of South Asian origin by their spouses, could turn in to a giant set up - a huge and meaningful organization known as "Apna Ghar" here.

A capital fund raising campaign dinner for Apna Ghar   was held last week in at Meadows club in Rolling Meadow, a north side suburb of Chicago, to raise funds for Ghar. The event was successful in that organizers were able to raise over $125,000 which goes for mortgage for the new building that was bought recently to meet the increasing demand of uprooted women and children. The manner in which people donated was an example of awareness among individuals and institutions to secure the economic conditions of suffering women and freedom from violence in the community at large.

Kamal Hans was the emcee and did a wonderful job throughout the three-hour program. Dr Surinder Nand, president welcomed the guests while Dr. Sudha Rao, secretary briefed about the activities of the Ghar. Earlier, she had visited Indian Consulate and Indian CG Attri and briefed officials about the Ghar activities.  One of the highlights was an eye catching Kathak dance performance by Archana Jogleker, a global famed Kathak Guru from India.

In a talk to this paper, Prem Sharma, a founder and active member of Apna Ghar, said that the beginning of this  organization was  a social club for the Indian immigrant women in 1978 and later "we felt the need to do something more for the women in distress by starting a helpline." She developed this idea into Indo-Crisis Line, a helpline for this cause.
In 1983 with the help of many volunteers Ms. Sharma switched over to the plight of suffering women in the immigrant society. It was on the Gandhi Jayanti day in 1989 that she was joined by Ms. Kanta Khipple a social worker and a retiree from W.H.O. who took charge of studying the cases pouring in through the 24 hour Helpline calls.

These two and three more women from Asian immigrant community established "Apna Ghar" as a shelter for suffering women and children by registering it officially. The growing group of dedicated women to this noble cause took it up as a challenge and fought to give justice to whosoever sought their help, without any discrimination of religion, race or nationality from the Indian sub-continent. It proved to be a blessing for those who were left with broken families and ruined futures and shattered dreams.

For the past 19 years, Apna Ghar has saved many lives by giving them shelter around Chicago land where they have spread in many locations with over 150 beds to accommodate the worst hit.

The first and foremost case study done by Indo-Crisis Line in 1983 on domestic violence in the immigrant society was supported by Asian Human Services. They established the need of shelter in response to reports of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and desertion in Asian American immigrant families. And thus came the idea of Apna Ghar as the first residential shelter and social service institution in U.S exclusively working for the victims of domestic violence in the Asian immigrant community.

Apna Ghar received the first city grant in 1991 to open a supervised child visitation center. Today Apna Ghar has grown to serve immigrant women with free and confidential services and have expanded to include a 24 hour toll free hotline: A shelter, transitional housing, legal advocacy and counseling, art therapy, job assistance, child visitation services and case management.

Apna Ghar has become a training ground for a number of students and researchers. A number of start up agencies all over the US have come to Apna Ghar to receive technical assistance. For the last two decades Apna Ghar has been the only source of safety and support for south Asian and immigrant women, children who experience domestic violence.