ORLANDO, Fla. — In this Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, volunteers with a Central Florida nonprofit are working toward a goal of helping survivors of domestic and intimate partner abuse.
That group is called Shakthi-US and Karuna Singhvi is one of the dedicated volunteers helping survivors in need.
What You Need To Know
- Shakthi-US helps survivors of domestic violence with resources to help them and their families during times of need
- Karuna Singhvi is one of the many dedicated volunteers going above and beyond to make sure people in South Asian communities have a place to seek refuge and can also have growth and build independence for their families
- In Sanskrit, Shakthi means strength an empowerment; the non-profit strives to help women and men who need a way out find a path forward
“They have given us a list of what they need. Things like the socks, the shoes, the brushes, the shampoos, the toiletries, the diapers,” Singhvi said.
She says all of these items will go to survivors of domestic violence with Safe Harbor in Seminole County.
Singhvi is a volunteer with Shakthi-US, which is a group that helps survivors of domestic violence find resources that guide them toward independence. Shakthi-US has specific focus on the South Asian community.
“We do not talk about it, we do not want to discuss with our partners, our friends, or anybody. We just try to take it in,” Singhvi said.
Through Shakthi, which in Sanskrit means “strength and empowerment,” the nonprofit helps women and men who need a way out find a path to freedom.
“As our founder always says, we know at least one person who has been going through domestic violence, but we close our eyes or close our ears, but we need to look around and try to help them and that is what we are trying to do with this organization,” Singhvi said.
Madhurima Paturi is the founder of Shakthi-US and says she is grateful for trusted volunteers like Singhvi who help with donation drives and other events to help victims.
Paturi said, “I’ve been practicing as an immigration attorney for the last 20 years and I see so many people going in and coming out talking about the domestic violence, especially the immigrants.”
“I think nonprofits are hard to run without the volunteers. They are the key and strength of the nonprofits and people like Karuna give time to the organizations where we are able to serve a large population,” Paturi said.
For this dedicated group, the mission is simple: help people who need the most during their darkest hour so that one day things may be just a bit brighter.
