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India Association of Greater Boston's monthly e-newsletter

eNews A monthly communiqué January 2020    No. 1 EDITOR'S NOTE Happy New Year to all IAGB friends and family! With every ticking moment, IAGB Directors and volunteers are inching towards the grand annual celebration, the celebration of India's Republic Day. This January 25th, we invite you all to Burlington High School to participate and compete in various competitions which will be followed by mega cultural celebrations. You will be enchanted with performances from various parts of India in a perfect way to celebrate the Republic. In this issue, you will find: A note from IAGB President - Sanjay Gowda From the Director's Corner – Supriya Shekar Spotlight – Santosh Salvi, President of New England Marathi Mandal (NEMM) Guest Column – Poppy Charnalia Journey of Poorna Malavath - Supriya Shekar IAGB Food Drive OCI Updates – Published and verified by CGNY IAGB Upcoming events IAGB Recent events IAGB Sponsors Our Media Partners Like always, we invite you to submit guest columns on diverse topics for inclusion in the newsletter. Your feedback and suggestions and welcome!! Please contact via Email if you wish to make community event announcements through this newsletter. Please visit our Website to sign up for annual family/single or life membership of IAGB. Contact Us if you are interested to volunteer at our upcoming events. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE UPCOMING IAGB EVENTS Jan 25th, 2020: Republic Day Mar 21st, 2020: Visa Camp Mar 2020: Governance Council (Date and other details will be announced soon) May 2020: IAGB Run (Date and other details will be announced soon) Jun 2020: IAGB SeniorFest (Date and other details will be announced soon) Aug 15th, 2020: India Day IAGB celebrates Martin Luther King Jr Day with his own wor ds that were found as a recording after 50 years of his visit to India. " Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a world since Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation ." - MLK. Jr recording on All India Radio in 1959. -- Yogita Miharia & Sanjay Kudrimoti IAGB ready to celebrate Republic Day on January 25, 2020 Republic Day is one of IAGB’s signature events for the last several decades. IAGB is eagerly looking forward to celebrating India’s 71st republic day on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Burlington High School, Burlington, MA .  Hon'ble Consul General of India NY, Sandeep Chakravorty will be gracing the occasion as the chief guest. This is a day-long celebration comprising of various segments. We will kick off the celebrations at 12.30pm with multiple competitions for all ages. There are some competitions still open, including IAGB Shark Tank Junior. Please register ASAP here . The cultural performances will begin from 4 pm. The cultural performances consists of multiple segments - kids, regional organizations competitions, dance dramas depicting global issues and high tempo Bollywood dance numbers - from best choreographers, teachers and dancers in the New England Area. Throughout the event, attendees will get to interact with local exhibitors and vendors from various corners of our community. Opportunities are still available for ads in the brochure as well as booth/table rentals. Please visit the website for more details. Also, IAGB has partnered with Maya Indian Grill to serve a variety of Indian food items, specially made for the event. You can preorder your favorite food items online until January 23rd, for 10% discount with coupon code IAGB10. Please click here to order. IAGB is proud to bring creative and entertaining events that all of our community can enjoy while celebrating the pride of India. The event is free and open for all. Look forward to seeing you all. Community Interaction with CGNY, Sandeep Chakravorty during Republic Day 2020 IAGB, as part of its Community Outreach, is organizing “Community Interaction with Consul General of India NY, Hon. Sandeep Chakravorty" with leaders of Indian community organizations in the Greater Boston area. All community organizations(socio-cultural, Sewa/service, etc) are invited to participate and interact with Hon. Consul General. It is only for leaders of community organizations and limited to 2 people per organization, due to space and other limitations. You must RSVP to attend this event. Please RSVP asap and the registration will be closed after reaching the capacity. Discussions would be on current state of affairs and collaboration among Indian American community organizations. Date : Saturday, January 25th, 2020, 3:45 - 4:30PM Place : Burlington High School, Burlington MA Please rsvp by clicking here -- Sanjay Gowda, President IAGB FROM THE DIRECTOR'S CORNER A Trip to Durban, South Africa -- Supriya Shekar Did you know that the largest overseas Indian populated city is NOT in UK or US?   Although countries like the US and UK have the highest number of overseas Indians but they have scattered presence. Among cities, Durban has the highest concentration of Indian population. I was as astonished as you to hear this during my family trip to Durban, South Africa, last Spring. After talking to several locals, spice vendors, taxi drivers and game resort staff with Indian heritage, I also learnt Indians are the most tolerant and hardworking people in the world. However, I’m certainly not sure why we keep reinventing the wheel when we can spin off from what we have learnt in the past.   More than 150 years ago, during the British colonization in South Africa somewhere in 1860’s, they discovered the soil of Durban to be extraordinarily terrific to grow sugarcane. However, they were no expert in this area of cultivation, hence they migrated Indians to come work in their sugar plantation. Many Indians mainly from Madras and some parts of Calcutta were shipped to form this colonial hunger for labor.    These people traveled from India for weeks in small vessels and landed in the port of Natal. They were under an indenture that allowed them to work for 5 years. Also, built in the indenture was an offer of either a return passage or a plot of land. Though the indenture portrayed as an act of kindness, it was really an agreement of slavery. Many decided to stay back after their 5-year tenure, as they had slowly built their homes and lives in this new place.     These “indentured” Indians worked hard, they worked more than 12 hours in a day in all possible climates. Both male and female worked in the same capacity. Thousands of Indians started to go weak day by day because of sickness, many hospitalized, hundreds of them died, several went to prison unable to work with vigour, some committed suicide unable to endure the punishments inflicted by their Masters. Many lost their hands and legs because they were inexperienced working in mills. Every “indentured” were to remain with a Master, they were asked to leave the country if they were not owned by a Master.    Other than the “indentured” there were Indians who were the “interpreters” who facilitated communications between colonialists and the indentureds. Interpreters were employed by the Natal Civil Service. One of such Interpreters was Mahatma Gandhi.   In 1893, Mahatma Gandhi arrived as a legal counsel to help a local merchant. He first handedly experienced ill-treatment for Indians, he sympathizes with the “indentured” whose conditions were horrific. He was once pushed out of a train for sitting in the first class, even though he had a first-class ticket purchased. No Indians were allowed to sit in the first class even if you are educated and well dressed, especially the Hindus.    Indian Muslims called themselves “Arabs” to prevent ill treatment, as Arabs came from the land of money and they were not considered slaves. Indian Catholics followed Christianity and wore western attires and drank wine that fit the lifestyle of the British. Hindus, however were considered the man of labor.     He immediately understood that the core to all these problems is- Indians not being unified. They were segregated and not supportive of one another. Within a week of his arrival, he setup a public speech to awaken the Indians to a sense of persecution they were in. He decided to fight for the first-class travel in railway. As a result, he was assured that Indians would get a first- or second-class tickets if dressed properly. This was his primary victory!    Later a bill was introduced to disable the Indians to vote in South Africa. Though there were only 300 Indians but it took a toll on Indian leaderships who can make key decisions to betterment Indians in South Africa. He wanted compatriots to resist this bill by concerned action. But Indians in Durban pleaded with him to stay back to help them. He agreed little realizing that this one month would grow into twenty years.    As a response to all this, Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894. This organization led non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment of the white people towards the native Africans and Indians. He brought people together, unified Indians of different castes and religion. Only then, was their voices heard, their oppressions reduced, their slavery ended and successors of Indian descents in Durban become successful professionals, politicians and businessmen today.   This trip to Durban and my reads about Gandhi’s life from his autobiography, only taught me one thing- a unified Indian association outside India is so significant. These associations not only have the power to keep us to our roots with our culture and traditions but to fight any oppressions against us, and also give rise to a political leader within our community who can fight for us. Because we are heard only when we are together and when we are many. This also inspired me to join as one of the Directors of Indian association of greater Boston to create that strong unified community that we all need.   I will conclude by saying, let’s not keep reinventing the wheel of knowledge on “Unity in diversity”, when we have already learnt it the hard way for many many years now.   -- Supriya Shekar Founder of Plate Nextdoor and Director of Indian Association of Greater Boston IAGB SPOTLIGHT Our community spotlight this month is on NEMM (New England Marathi Mandal). We spoke with Mr. Santosh Salvi, the current President NEMM Santosh Salvi - President of NEMM IAGB : Thank you Mr. Santosh for talking to IAGB. Tell us about your organization, its history and its EC structure. Santosh Salvi : NEMM was started in 1979, with ten families, contributing $10 each. It has now completed 41 years. The EC committee and members have a term of 2 years. The committee is a team of fifteen members. In addition, there are three trustees. The president selects his/her committee. We recruit committee members from different geographical areas. Our members are from MA, NH, RI, ME and CT. Currently there are about 350+ member families. IAGB : What is the mission of NEMM?  Santosh Salvi : NEMM is proud to inherit and preserve the Maharashtrian culture through various activities . Over the years, we have provided many splendid programs and entertained good - size crowds on the occasion of Marathi festivals. We also aim at giving back to the community. We encourage and motivate our members to give back. IAGB : Tell us about your events. Which one is your flagship event? Santosh Salvi : We host a minimum of 6 events every year – Sankranti, Gudi Padwa, Maharashtra Day, Picnic, Ganapati and Diwali. The first event of the year is Makar Sankranti, being celebrated on Jan 18 th this year. We have invited all past presidents to it and expect at least 11 of them to join. The goal is to have them all participate at the 50 years completion program. It is amazing to listen to their stories from past years, and their struggles. Our flagship event is Ganapati. Almost 800 people attend it. This year we opened it to everyone, basically we advertised outside of NEMM in the non-Maharashtrian community and that attracted almost 150-200 non-Maharashtrian attendees. My hope is that other organizations will also open up their flagship events to everyone in the community. Out of these six events, there are 2-3 additional events where local and from within USA artists perform and 2-3 events where artists from India perform. To attend the entertainment programs, you have to be member, but any non-member can attend with an entrance fee. To attract the student population, we have a young representative in the committee who has recently graduated and that has enabled the student population to enjoy our events too. IAGB : Where do you see your organization in the next five years? Santosh Salvi : My goal is to bring the community together by working with organizations like IAGB. We should aim at collectively working for any issues impacting American Indians. I see NEMM growing and having a great future. IAGB : What are some of the other initiatives of your organization?  Santosh Salvi : We believe i n “Giving Back to community” and conduct food drives, winter clothing drives etc. during our events. Every year we donate money received in Pooja Thali during Ganapati festival to charity in India and/or USA. There are three area schools that teach Marathi, and we want to make sure that every new member has an opportunity to join that school. If you love the language, you understand the culture. We encourage young kids to be a part of NEMM through a separate youth group. If they are engaged they understand our culture better. Last year we started a new initiative, a group for members that are over 60 years of age. The idea is to connect them to the community. We  encourage   volunteering partnership through our local communities and provide forum for knowledge exchange through info sessions like Real Estate, college admission process etc. This also gives people an opportunity to mingle before the evening entertainment begins. We encourage local vendors by hiring them as food suppliers at many of our events. IAGB : What are some of your challenges? Santosh Salvi : It is not easy to reach out to new families in the area and make them aware of NEMM, and even after they know about it, they are afraid to join. To overcome that fear and make them comfortable, the core committee takes extra efforts to make every member comfortable by interacting with them. Retaining members with older kids is also a challenge, for which we started initiative on the 60 Plus group. My objective as a parent is to get our children interested, and hope that when they have kids they come back to NEMM. IAGB : Tell us about your experience as a President of NEMM. Santosh Salvi : I have been a member of NEMM for 12 years now. My involvement in the 2013 BMM is what prompted me to get more involved in NEMM. This is my second year of my term as President. I took the responsibility as a president in January 2019 and delivered 6 programs so far successfully with the help of my energetic committee and volunteers. As a president of the organization , my objective is to not only deliver quality cultural programs but to also bring the community together for all ages and provide an event that will cater the needs of our diverse community. My journey as the President has been nothing but wonderful and I have many good memories of the past year. My amazing committee members enjoy and love what they do. IAGB : Tell us about yourself Santosh Salvi : I am serial entrepreneurial - Owner of Unique System Skills LLC (Global IT staffing, training and consulting company) and Salvi Enterprise LLC (Real Estate Investing company). I have volunteered in Shishubharati (NH) for 7 years as a Marathi coordinator. I have also served on Advisory Board of Nashua YMCA and volunteered in NESSP (Sai Temple at Acton) for 3 years. Visit  https://www.nemm.org/ to learn more about NEMM. -- Yogita Miharia GUEST COLUMN  Autism, thriving in Light and Love -- Poppy Charnalia I am writing this in the hope that another parent like me will read this and reach out FOR help. I am writing this in the hope that all other parents will read this and reach out with compassion and love TO help the parents who need it.  My husband and I had two beautiful babies in 2010, Preanshi and Sohum. We were over the moon. We were overjoyed and over stretched with caring for two babies.  Within 3 months we started to notice severe food issues with Sohum. Slowly we discovered other red flags until he had an official ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) diagnosis at age 5.  My husband Samir has always been very positive. He only focuses on what can we do to help Sohum. I am a worrier. I worried for Sohum’s this very moment, today , his near future, his far future incessantly.  As a parent of a child who has challenges there are a few hurdles to cross.  1) Your own grief/confusion over the unexpected turn your life has taken. 2) Your endless worry for your child.  3) The daily unexpected and expected challenges that affect every single member of the household. 4) Giving your other children a relatively healthy and normal childhood experience while you are hurting.  2013 was a very tough year for me as a Mom. I knew something very serious was going on with my baby. I researched a lot. I was sinking. I usually turn inwards for light. I tried to meditate, paint , sing or write, things I love to do. This time however I couldn’t find that light inside. I just found deep, dark despair.  I also realized I need to seek help for Sohum ASAP. My emotions should not get in the way. I reached out to the City of Cambridge to get him therapy. I got 25 hours (per week) of ABA therapy for him. I highly recommend evaluation and intense therapy as soon as you suspect any ASD red flags.  https://autismnavigator.com/red-flags-of-autism/   Therapy has been proven to re-wire the brain.  There is a lot of stigma around ‘labeling your child Autistic’. I think if you get therapy for a speech delayed child, it really helps them. This kind of 1:1 teaching is beneficial for any child. If it turns out they are typically developing, then there is no down side. Doctors will not give the final diagnosis without multiple evaluations until they are 5 years old anyways.  I experienced symptoms of severe anxiety and depression. I stopped reaching out to friends. The abyss was so dark; I didn’t think friends could help me. My doctor prescribed pills, I kept them in the bathroom but never used them. I was determined to holistically heal myself. I wanted to cure it from the place it began and not just symptomatically. I broke down my anxiety in rational pieces. I decided to organize my grief. A technique I use when solving problems at work.  What am I so afraid of? 1) My child’s current life- Well Samir and I are here to take care of that. We are both very active and enthusiastic people. So the work involved in raising a child on the spectrum never bothered us. If we were up late in the night cleaning up, we would make jokes, laugh and love our child. Samir and I also nurture our love for each other. We are a team.  2) My child’s future- I have run around the world researching for regenerative, holistic cures for Sohum. We followed some that seemed safe and I think they have produced results. Sohum is making great strides academically.  There is a good chance he may be developmentally at a place where he can be an independent adult. If he isn’t, we can take practical steps to ensure his future is secure. This includes developing a trusted circle of family and friends who love and support us.  3) My own state of mind- I cry for my child but not out of hopelessness, simply out of deep love. I have charted how many times I cry and figured out that it really helps. I have organized my grief!  I will spend quality time with my family, friends, meditate, eat well, paint, write and sing to cure myself. I will not pity myself. This is the stimulus I have been presented, my reaction to it determines the quality of my life and my family’s life.  I have since painted for my clients and for art shows over 200 pieces of sculptured art ( www.poppyspaintings.com ). Sohum enjoyed textures I created on canvas which started my journey of highly textured art!  I published a Hindi/Urdu poetry book called - ‘Yeh Sach Anwarat’ or ‘This Relentless Truth’ in September 2018. I have an art show coming up in TriBeCa New York in May of this year (2020).  4) How will the world react to my child and the way he is- I was never one to worry too much about ‘opinions’ since I was a kid. So this was a very minor concern for me. I have spoken about Sohum and Autism openly and honestly. If someone is still not kind to us, we as a family will distance ourselves. We have mostly found very compassionate people around us.  5) How will this impact Preanshi, my daughter- I talk to Preanshi a lot. We share music, art, poetry, humor and have become a team. She is very kind towards Sohum and even other children who may have any challenges or just kids in general. Preanshi knows jealousy is not a virtue, it has to be worked on by self-awareness and introspection. I think this experience is making her a more mature and kind human being. I can’t wait to meet her when she is an adult!  Preanshi is writing a children’s book where the main character Humso is on the Autism Spectrum. She explores a world which is Autism friendly. We hope to read this book at schools, kids’ gyms, pools etc to increase awareness. We still face issues in public places due to lack of awareness even though the number of kids diagnosed with Autism is so high.  While I had dealt with my own state of mind, I couldn’t see another parent going through the same. I would break down. I would see a child blocking his ears at a beach and tears would flow endlessly. I have now found the courage to speak to parents whose children are in the process of diagnosis. I can offer practical and psychological help.  My advice to them is - ‘Don’t hurt yourself so much that you can’t help your child. I understand it’s a process but once you get past the initial grief your mind can rationally steer you, your child and your family in a healthier way. The baseline expectation or hope of ‘normalcy’ is unrealistic and causes grief. Rational and methodical grief is more bearable than the irrational and chaotic one.’  If you know anyone who needs help, Jaya Pandey who runs the ’Mom’s Network’ is a wonderful person to reach out to. I am here as well.  If you see an unusually hyperactive child who seems obstinate, before judging please consider the fact that he may be on the Autism Spectrum. Children with ASD are often very active and love destroying things. In their mind it’s not destruction but discovery. If you work at a kids’ gym, pool, birthday party place etc. please be kind. These children have their own rules; we have to sometimes work around their sensory sensitivities as long as they are safe.  If you have a typically developing child not achieving desired results at school or otherwise, be grateful for whatever his or her capabilities are. Make them happy human beings. Happy people reach their full potential in life.  I write a lot about hope, not the destination but the journey of hope.  मैंने तेरी हक़ीक़त को बाइज़्जत जगह दी है,  अब तू भी मेरे ख़्वाबों को कुछ जगह दे मौला..... Sohum is starting to write and read a little. He is beginning to tell stories which is a huge step in speech development. His talk is no longer just need based. I am beyond excited. I thrive in Light and Love.  Poppy Charnalia www.poppyspaintings.com poppyawasthi@yahoo.com The journey of Mountaineer Poorna Malavath --Supriya Shekar Thank you Vijay Kaki from TeNRI ( Telegana NRI Association ) for inviting us to this inspiring event to meet Poorna Malavath , the youngest girl who climbed Mt. Everest at the age of 13. Now at 19, she has accomplished climbing 6 summits out of the 7 highest peaks around the world. Her latest being Mt. Vinson in Antarctica just few days ago. Poorna comes from a tribal family in a small village called Pakala, Nizamabad district in the Telangana state of India. Both her parents are farmers and always dreamt big for Poorna. She gets an opportunity to join a State Social Welfare Residential school that changes her life. Her talent is spotted by the secretary of the society Dr.R.S.Praveen Kumar who convinces chief-minister N. Sandhanapalli Anand Kumar to authorize her for Operation Everest. She takes 6 month of intense preparation by trekking the mountains of Ladakh and Darjeeling with her coach Shekar Babu and Colonel Khan. On 25 May 2014, Poorna scales the highest peak at the age of 13 years and 11 months, and becomes the youngest girl in the world to have reached the summit of Everest. While her friends were removed from school to get married and have kids at the age of 13, Poorna focused to achieve something remarkable that changed the fate of these girls in her village. Her journey and her achievements has now set a new hope, and the number of student population in the schools has shown a significant increase since then.  She believes everyone should have a mentor, a role model and an inspirational figure in their lives. Her mentor was Dr.R.S.Praveen Kumar, role models were her coaches and her inspiration was her parents, their hard work and dedication inspired her to climb mountains, literally!  You can learn more about her in her biopic movie or her book- Poorna  For IAGB - Supriya Shekar IAGB Food Drive for Burlington PHP Donate FOOD!  We will be collecting unexpired, non-perishable food and misc. toiletry items at our Burlington PHP Drop Box on Saturday January 25th, by the IAGB Registration Desk: 1 pm – 8 pm. Their current most needed items are as follows: Pasta sauce vegetable oil Basmati rice coffee, tea and cocoa 2 lb bags of sugar and flour 100% juice and juice boxes jelly canned spinach broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef) ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salad dressing gluten free foods personal hygiene items (indv wrapped toilet paper, dish soap, toothpaste, razors, shampoo, boxes of tissues) cereal oatmeal    OCI UPDATE Welcome relief regarding OCI rules for NRIs - please see the update from Consul General of India, NY IAGB upcoming Events REPUBLIC DAY MELA 2020 Republic Day Mela 2020 is less than one week from now. We are honored to host Shri. Sandeep Chakravorty - Consul General of India, New York as our chief guest for the event. The day will begin with competitions in multiple / diverse categories. Cultural programs will represent the diversity of India. Food will be available for purchase from our food vendor - Maya Indian Catering, Wakefield, MA. See you all on January 25th, 2020 for the Republic Day Celebrations!!! INDIA CONFERENCE at HARVARD The below is not an IAGB event but there is a 15% off on the event tickets for IAGB followers if they use these coupon codes. Students- " NC202015" Professionals- "ICH202015" PAST EVENTS VISA CAMP IAGB hosted Indian Visa Camp and helped many community members to get their Indian PASSPORT/ VISA/ OCI applications pre-approved by the consulate staff that was visiting us from New York.. The event venue was Swamy Narayan Temple in Lowell MA on Saturday, November 16th 11am-3pm . Feaster Five Run To promote a healthy and energetic lifestyle, IAGB participated in a 5K /5 Mile walk/run which is the largest race in the Merrimack Valley and 2nd largest in the state (only 2nd to the Boston Marathon). The race happened on Thanksgiving Morning (Thursday) at 8:30am. Over 10,000 runners run this race. The Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race, presented by Schneider Electric, has been a Merrimack Valley tradition since 1987. Visit by Indian Ambassador to Boston in Pictures IAGB CORPORATE SPONSORS Hotstar (Star TV India) which is now part of The Walt Disney Company. Hotstar is the biggest streaming destination in India with 300 Mn users and the leading South Asian platform in the US. We have the best of Indian Entertainment,MoviesWeb Series, regional content and Sports including the IPL and Cricket World Cup. The purpose of this email was to reach out to understand how we could work with the Indian community at your workplace. We have built our reach in the US through community connects such as Cricket fests, match screenings, comedy fest etc. Currently Streaming Live Cricket Match INDIA V WESTINDIES Hotstar Specials- Out of Love Showing Master Chef India Movies- Housefull 4 and Arjun Reddy Everything in one Platform Don’t Miss the Excitement. Now Subscribe Using Promo Code IAGBSTAR for special discount. Newyork Life Insurance Company At the heart of New York Life is a commitment to be there for the customers when they need -whether today or decades into the future. NY Life has delivered on that promise for nearly 175 years by investing wisely, growing a diversified mix of businesses, and remaining true to the mission as a mutual company, accountable only to their customers, not to outside investors. People come to work at New York Life to contribute to the financial goals of millions of families and businesses each day. NY Life has a diverse, nationwide workforce that allows them to support the communities where we work. New York Life has a dedicated South Asian Unit for the past 20 years. At BMW of Sudbury, a Herb Chambers Company, we don't believe in providing the same old dealership experience, and we aren't interested in sticking to the status quo. We are committed to satisfying our customers' every automotive need, and we strive to create the kind of environment that they'll want to share with others. Come to this Massachusetts BMW dealer and you will find a wealth of chic and well-designed vehicles for your consideration. Browse our new 2018-2019 inventory and you'll find a large selection of  new BMW  models, including the ever-popular BMW X5 SAV®, BMW 3 Series sedan and BMW i8 coupe. We also have plenty of well-kept  used BMW  models for budget-conscious shoppers to browse, as well as trustworthy Certified Pre-Owned BMW vehicles.  Indian Circle for Caring USA Inc., (ICC) is a volunteer non-profit organization focused on providing urgent or emergency guidance and support for our fellow community members and their families as they may encounter unplanned and unexpected events such as serious sickness, hospitalization, accidents, family crisis, and death / bereavement of a loved one. Started in August 2007, ICC has been actively building awareness in the community by working with existing social, religious, professional, services, media and other organizations as well as participation at various events. ICC has over 5,500 members and has received support of over sixty (60) organizations. In order to provide needed support to its clients ICC has built a bank of over 250 volunteers and established strategic partnership with several organizations. OUR PARTNERS   OUR MEDIA PARTNERS Editors: Sanjay Kudrimoti & Yogita Miharia IAGB Communications www.iagb.org ‌ ‌ ‌