Hello!

This month we celebrate Asian & Pacific American Heritage and the contributions that ALL Asian immigrant communities have made to America. May is ALSO Mental Health Awareness Month. A reminder to us all that our emotional well-being is just as important as our physical well-being. As always, SAHARA is here to support!

SAHARA’s vital work would not be possible without your constant support. Our programs (such as our upcoming Youth Program) are FREE for our community.

Please help us continue to expand and grow our much needed services and projects.
SAVE THE DATE!
SAHARA’s board and staff are proud to announce that our 28th Annual Gala will be held on September 14th at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. This year’s theme is “Empowering Our Community”. Mark your calendars and save the date for an evening of fine dining, friends, and entertainment - all for a great cause, the betterment of our community’s most vulnerable.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities will be available soon. Stay tuned!
YOUTH PROGRAM
SAHARA’s annual Summer Youth Program: Be the Change 2019 is quickly approaching! This is an opportunity for high school students to get involved in social justice and community building while also learning professional skills for the future. This is an excellent opportunity for our youth to develop the skills they need as they move towards college and young adulthood.
The program is FREE , but spots are limited.
BOARD HIGHLIGHT
SAHARA’s board member, Dr. Rubina Najeeb, is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist in Child, Adolescent, Adult and Forensic Psychiatry. She is one of the Forensic Psychiatrists on the panel for The Orange County Juvenile Court. On top of this, Dr. Najeeb is the president of the Bangladeshi Medical Association of North America, California Chapter (BMANA-CA), whose mission is to support professional activities catering to health education and engage in humanitarian projects locally and globally, particularly in Bangladesh.
“I have always been a strong advocate of human rights and equality. It has been a privilege for me to be a Board Member of SAHARA, an organization that supports victims of Domestic Violence, where they enter the program feeling hopeless & powerless and eventually depart, feeling self-sufficient and empowered. I have been humbled and inspired by the resiliency of the survivors. Let us hope that one day we can envision a world without Domestic Violence.”
-Dr. Rubina Najeeb
RECENT EVENTS
APIDA NARRATIVES

Shreshta Aiyar is the Social Justice Educator Lead at the Asian Pacific American Resource Center at CSU Fullerton. Her program, APIDA Immigration Narratives, highlights the history and stories of APIDA populations and their immigration experiences. Last month, she focused on the Desi/South Asian experiences and described the history of Desi/South Asian immigration. SAHARA spoke about the work and services we provide to the community.
THAI NEW YEARS

The 2019 Annual Thai New Year Songkran Festival was celebrated on April 28th in Thai Town, Los Angeles. It is a festival celebrated in Thailand on the period when the sun moves from one Zodiac sign Pisces to another Zodiac sign Aries. SAHARA was proud to be doing outreach with the Asian Pacific Islander Sexual Assault Collaborative at the event. Thank you to the Thai Community Development Center and Center for the Pacific Asian Family for organizing the event.  
SENIOR WELLNESS PROGRAM

Our April Senior Wellness Program at our partner organization Joy of Sharing, Sanatan Dharma Temple was a great success. We gave participants information on public benefits and in-home support services and had a discussion on how SAHARA could better serve the senior community. All part of our mission to promote health and happiness for seniors! 
Ramadan greetings to all those that are celebrating! 

As members of our diverse communities come together to break fast, pray and reflect; SAHARA will be out and about raising awareness on our services through outreach at various gatherings, mosques, and events. 
HELP US CONTINUE OUR LIFE CHANGING WORK
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  (562) 402-4132