The MurthyNAYAK Foundation is pleased to support the important work of SAALT, South Asian Americans Leading Together. SAALT is a national non-profit organization that seeks to build a more just and inclusive society in the United States, one in which South Asians are active stakeholders who fully participate in the common life of our society.

SAALT works to make South Asian voices heard and South Asian perspectives understood in the political discourse of the United States – a mission that has taken on special importance in the years following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the aftermath of which saw a sharp increase in racial profiling, discrimination, and hate crimes perpetrated against individuals of South Asian ancestry in the United States.

SAALT’s work is political, but remains rigorously non-partisan, striving to advance the shared interests of all South Asian Americans, regardless of age, economic status, gender, geography, immigration or citizenship status, language ability, national origin, profession, religion, or sexual orientation. Its constituents include the 2.7 million South Asians living in the United States, who trace their origins to Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the diaspora communities in Trinidad/Tobago, Guyana, and Africa.

With support from the Murthy Law Firm, SAALT produced an informational guide called “What You Need to Know to Become a U.S. Citizen: A Guide for South Asians,” which provides answers to frequently asked questions about the naturalization process and the obstacles facing South Asian applicants. Attorney Sheela Murthy is a proud member of SAALT’s Council of Advisors. The MurthyNAYAK Foundation also supports one of SAALT’s coalition members, ASHA for Women.

http://www.saalt.org

The MurthyNAYAK Foundation provides regular financial support to the Multi-Ethnic Domestic Violence (MEDOVI) Project of the Women’s Law Center of Maryland. MEDOVI works with foreign-born clients who have been abused by an intimate partner – a spouse or former spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or parent of a child in common. Domestic violence victims need help to free themselves from their abusers, and frequently must turn to the courts for protection. MEDOVI provides pro bono legal assistance to foreign-born victims of domestic violence in Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition proceedings, and in Final Protection Order hearings around the State of Maryland. MEDOVI also helps foreign-born victims of human trafficking and other crimes to apply for special visas

MEDOVI’s other free services include referrals to other community resources, information about legal rights and options, and safety planning assistance to help victims avoid encounters with their abusers. MEDOVI’s outreach programs raise public awareness about domestic violence and the resources available to victims, and train community service providers about special visa programs that can protect foreign-born domestic violence victims from deportation.

We support MEDOVI because no one should have to suffer from domestic abuse – ever! Every person has a right to be free from violence and abuse. This is a basic human right; and yet, thousands of people in Maryland are victimized in this way every year, and immigrant women are especially vulnerable. MEDOVI gives immigrant victims of domestic violence the legal help necessary to escape this cycle of abuse, and to begin rebuilding their lives.

For further information on the MEDOVI program, visit the Women’s Law Center website at www.wlcmd.org/domesticviolence.html.

Attorney Sheela Murthy is a proud alumna and loyal supporter of Harvard Law School, where she received her Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 1987. She also is a strong believer that immigration law is a calling, and in a 2008 interview, told the Harvard Law Bulletin that “Immigration is a symbol of who we are as an American people, and we really need to do more to educate people about it.”

Seeking to promote the study of immigration law at her alma mater, Attorney Murthy and her husband, filmmaker Vasant Nayak, have endowed a financial aid fund for LL.M. candidates to study immigration law. That fund can help students who need money for tuition or books. As Attorney Murthy noted in the Harvard Law Bulletin, “I worked as a security guard during part of my time at the law school, which made it hard to concentrate on my studies. I want to make it easier for future students to take advantage of what the law school affords.”

The MurthyNAYAK Foundation has also endowed a special travel fund at Harvard Law School for teachers of immigration law, so they can stay on the cutting edge of learning in their field, attending meetings and conferences on the ever-changing, evolving state of the art in immigration law.

To read the complete 2008 Harvard Law Bulletin interview, visitwww.law.harvard.edu/news/bulletin/2008/winter/commitment.php

Harmony Thru Education – In India, children with special needs are often considered a burden to their families. Harmony Through Education, a Maryland nonprofit, is working to reverse that, and has established a school in Dharamsala, India, for children with mental and physical challenges. The school provides instruction in math, reading, and writing, augmented by vocational and life skills training, and speech and language therapy. These help special-needs children develop self-esteem and employable skills, so they can reach their full potential and contribute to their families and communities. The school also sponsors a Special Olympics team, and provides health education programs for families. In addition, Harmony Through Education provides teacher training, to build the special education infrastructure that now is lacking.

The MurthyNAYAK Foundation provided a grant to pay full tuition costs for 10 Harmony students for one year. An additional grant from the MurthyNAYAK Foundation will feed two nutritious meals a day to all 19 students at the Harmony Through Education school in Dharamsala. For breakfast, the school serves tea, a wheat-based flatbread or chapatti, and curd. Lunches consist of rice, lentils, chapattis, and locally-grown organic vegetables. These carefully-balanced meals instill healthy eating habits, and help students to stay focused on their studies.

http://www.harmonythrougheducation.org/about-2/

Big Brothers and Big Sisters – this Baltimore-based nonprofit provides one-on-one mentoring relationships to help at-risk children reach their full potential. Their mission is to bring a caring adult into the life of every child in need, helping children achieve success in school and in life, while strengthening their communities. Each adult mentor gets together with his or her Little Brother/Little Sister once a month to spend time together, enjoying a meal, playing a game, seeing a movie, attending a concert – in short, having fun together. The children benefit from the attention, friendship and positive influence of a caring adult taking interest in their growth, development, and well-being.

http://www.bbbs.org

Akshaya Patra – millions of poor children in India are deprived of an education by a simple fact of life: they need to eat, and in order to eat, they need to work, which – at the measly wages of an unskilled child laborer – means long hours that exclude any time for school. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is working to change this dynamic, providing hot, in-school meals to help poor children stay in school – their one chance to escape the cycle of poverty. Akshaya Patra makes balanced, nutritious meals at its modern central kitchens in Bangalore and other cities all over India, feeding 1.2 million children every day. The meals help reduce the dropout rate – giving poor students an incentive to continue their education – while also giving students the energy they need to focus on their studies and get the most out of each school day. Through Akshaya Patra, the MurthyNAYAK Foundation has funded daily meals for hundreds of needy children, to help them stay in school.

http://www.foodforeducation.org/index.php?content=31
http://www.akshayapatra.org/our-mission

One of the largest, hands-on science education programs in the world, Agastya is a movement led by entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, teachers, and children. Its goal is to revitalize and transform primary and secondary education in India and provide an affordable education model, replicable anywhere in the world. The MurthyNAYAK Foundation has provided a grant to rebuild the Agastya website, and worked with Site2Sight Productions on a documentary film, Spirit of Agastya, which vividly illustrates Agastya’s efforts to spark curiosity in India’s rural children. The film was a gift to Agastya from the MurthyNAYAK Foundation. Click here to view the film, http://agastya.org/albums/albums/spirit.html%20.

The MurthyNAYAK Foundation also has served as a facilitator to introduce Agastya’s leadership to scientists, nonprofit organizations, educators, and artists in Baltimore, Maryland to build partnership opportunities. Financial contributions have gone towards building five models for the Discovery Center in Kuppam, A.P., India. MNF’s in-kind contributions have provided state-of-the-art professional video equipment to the educators and scientists at Agastya’s main campus in Kuppam.

In the fall of 2010, the MurthyNAYAK Foundation made a substantial long-term funding commitment to Agastya, to extend the reach of their transformative programs and help more rural Indian children to unlock the vast potential of their imaginations.

In the past decade, Agastya has reached over 2.5 million children – half of whom are girls – and 80,000 teachers in several Indian states. In 2010, two of 24 winners of the prestigious Intel India Science Award were young women from Agastya, who competed successfully against a huge field of competitors, representing the cream of India’s private schools. This is bold, transformative work, and we are proud to play a part in Agastya’s success.

Learn more at www.agastya.org.

AID – the Association for India’s Development is a volunteer movement that promotes sustainable, equitable, and just development in India. It has launched high-profile campaigns against corruption and worked to remedy other major impediments to India’s development. AID supports grass-roots organizations in India and seeks broad-based solutions to complex problems that may implicate several domains of concern, including education, employment, natural resources (land, water and energy), agriculture, health, women’s empowerment, and social justice. Through AID, the MurthyNAYAK Foundation has sponsored several village welfare programs in India.

http://aidindia.org/main/content/blogsection/3/67/

Donations were sent to the American Red Cross for rescue and recovery efforts and to support the survivors and families of those whose lives were lost in the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.

At the time of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and with the help of Murthy Immigration Services, Pvt Ltd in Chennai, India, the MurthyNayak FOUNDATION arranged for food, clothing, medicine, and household essentials to hundreds of people displaced by this tragedy.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, during the final days of August 2005, the Murthy Nayak FOUNDATION again made a contribution to the American Red Cross to provide aid to families in that devastated area.

When disaster strikes, even the most prepared individuals are left unbalanced. The reality of such a situation is so overwhelming compared to drills and preparations. Those who already exist on the fringes of society are usually the ones left in the most desperate of circumstances. They have nothing and nowhere to turn. The MurthyNayak FOUNDATION supports organizations that are first responders in these situations where and when they hit.

International Disaster Relief Efforts

• Asian Tsunami
• Hurricane Katrina
• Attacks of 9/11