Date: November 23, 2005

TAMPA, FL – Having completed its first summer internship program in September 2005, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) announced today that the program will continue in 2006. HAF members felt that the inaugural program was a resounding success in 2005 with thirteen high-school and undergraduate interns from across the country completing various internship projects. Each intern was assigned a project suited to their individual skills to further their interests in promoting Hindu values of tolerance and pluralism. The projects had a domestic and global scope.

“The summer internship program is the first step in enabling youths to contribute to a nationally recognized Hindu American organization,” said Pawan Deshpande, member of the Hindu American Foundation Executive Council and internship program coordinator. “These interns showed tremendous enthusiasm and commitment as they entered the world of advocacy and activism for Hindu Americans.”

Aayal Patel (San Jose, CA) researched information on the significance of major Hindu festivals and holidays. Ruchi Turakhia (Davidson, NC) contributed to HAF’s media outreach. Anupama Madabhushi (Missouri City, TX) and Srinivas Sai Kondapalli (Strongsville, OH) contacted various Hindu community centers as a part of HAF’s Hindu Awareness Campaign. Meenal Vamburkar (Franklin Park, NJ) and Pragya Verma (Holmdel, NJ) conducted surveys for education and academic bias efforts. Bhaavika Patel (Cupertino, CA), Rajit Das (Houston, TX) and Preetom Sikder (Staten Island, NY) documented incidents human rights violations in Hindu-minority regions of South Asia. Their work will be included in the HAF upcoming human rights report. Nihar Barbhaiya (San Jose, CA) and Sruthi Satishchandran (Lansdale, PA) performed online research on several topics of concern to the Hindu American community. Chetan Surpur (Cupertino, CA) and Kartikeya Katir (Yuba City, CA) completed various web development projects. Lahari Rao (Pleasanton, CA) contributed the Faith-based and Community Initiatives (FBCI) guide, which was released in September.

“Before my summer internship, I did not know how students of my age could do something about the challenges facing the Hindu community,” said Preetom Sikder, a Hindu American Foundation intern who documented over 90 human rights violations against Hindus in Bangladesh. “My internship with HAF provided me with an opportunity to proactively make an impact at an international level.”

Among the highlights of the summer, California-based interns also met Mata Amritanandamayi (Ammachi) and attended a separate intern dinner event. Other interns presented their projects to members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Council over conference calls. Several of the interns will be returning to work with HAF on other projects in the near future.

“We have seen a clear interest in the program and look forward to growing it for the summer of 2006,” said Mr. Deshpande. “These interns are the future leaders of HAF and our community, and we are fortunate to be able to provide this opportunity to further their tremendous talents."