Cultural Presentation of South Asians

Cultural Presentation of South Asians

Background Information about AshaUSA and the presentations “Cultural Presentation on South Asians”:
Presenters:  Kamala Puram and Sayali Amarapurkar

AshaUSA (www.ashausa.org) is a Minnesota based non-profit organization focused on promoting health and harmony in the South Asian Community by helping South Asian immigrants (individuals originally from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) to assimilate effectively into the American society. Key areas of focus are: research, programming and cultural education to staff and  professionals in the school systems.

South Asian community is diverse and one of the fastest growing minority populations in the United States.  There are over 3.4 million South Asians in United States and over 44,000 living in Minnesota according to 2010 census.

75% of them are first generation immigrants. The 1st generation immigrants are new to the American education system and tend be influenced by the cultural habits from the country of their origin.

Even though many, not all,  in this group of people are highly educated, mostly very fluent in English and in mid to high income brackets, they do have several challenges that must be considered.

It is important for the school staff and teachers who work with students and parents from different cultures to understand their religious and cultural beliefs, their diet, and their experiences with the school systems within the country of their origin to provide culturally relevant services.  

AshaUSA’s cultural presentation to school staff will include an overview of Asian Indian culture and family system, educational value system, diet,  behaviors, religious beliefs and practices, and an overview of the educational system in India.  Each presentation will be an hour long with time for questions and answers.