15 Minutes: Seema Kak, Executive Director of Kiran Inc.
Photo by Jade Wilson.
Executive Director of Kiran, Seema Kak (center), and staff. (left to right sitting) Teena Palathanam, Seema Kak, Aparna Balakrishnan. (left to right standing) Salona Lutchminarain and Aelya Salman.
Can you tell me about the work that Kiran does?
Our mission is to end the cycle of abuse and empower South Asian victims of domestic violence for the entire state of North Carolina by providing culturally specific services. We began in 1998; it was just a volunteer organization. A couple of women got together and wanted to highlight the domestic violence that had started to pick up, or at least become noticeable, in the South Asian communities. It grew from there. In 2008, the agency became federally funded for the first time as a nonprofit organization. So, other than just providing domestic violence services, we try to help these victims escape the cycle of abuse and rebuild their lives. Weâre not limited to, but we have identified nine South Asian countries we serve, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.