Four students from our school (Jesuit High School Portland, Oregon, US) share the inspiring work they have been doing with the Desi Project. The project aims to empower South Asian teenagers become more confident with their culture by providing them with a platform to share their stories and culture with the broader community.

Every day, social constructs and stereotypes of South Asians in American society lead to South Asian teenagers feeling uncomfortable with representing their culture. The skin color, appearance, and cultural traditions of South Asians often result in stereotypes that define them. Forced to abide by certain stereotypes, such as, “being excellent at math and science”, often results with Desi teenagers rejecting their culture and instead trying to embody the dominant white culture.

In this period of social unrest, four students, Nysa Gohil, Shreya Kaushik, Rishabh Sharma, and Dev Udata, from Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon in the United States, have started a non-profit organization called The Desi Project. Their mission is to empower South Asian (Desi) teenagers in America by helping them become more confident and comfortable with their culture, providing them with a platform to share their stories, and helping them make an impact in the community.

Their idea was inspired by a group of teenagers from their local Portland community that spoke out about racial injustices they have faced at school. The four co-founders have reached out to over 100 South Asian teenagers and influencers across the nation, and they have learned that these teenagers have tremendous appreciation and gratitude for The Desi Project mission. Over 90% of the South Asian teenagers interviewed have agreed that these problems are unquestionably present. More than 75% said that they wished their community had an organization similar to The Desi Project. These teenagers are excited to have a safe space where they can share their experiences without any outside judgement. They want to help educate the community about how hurtful and detrimental these stereotypes are to South Asian culture.

To address this problem, The Desi Project has a multi-part solution directed towards creating a safe community for South-Asian teenagers and eliminating common stereotypes. First, the four have created an online platform for sharing stories and participating in virtual discussions. On their blog, South-Asian teenagers can post stories about their culture or injustices they have faced, and they can comment on the stories of others. This will create a strong community focused on preserving South Asian culture. They have received wide participation and are receiving stories regularly. Secondly, the four have created several video video vignettes addressing misrepresentative stereotypes and popular topics such as colorism in South Asian communities. With these videos, they hope to educate the greater community about microaggressions, harmful stereotypes, and the misrepresentation of South Asian teenagers in America. Finally, the non-profit has begun to host local events, sharing food, art, and other important aspects of South Asian culture with homeless shelters, elderly homes, and other local organizations. They recently hosted a South Asian sack lunch drive for a local homeless shelter, The Blanchet House, and received over 250+ South Asian sack lunches from the local community. They hope that with these events, they can effectively share South Asian culture while also creating a positive impact on the community.

Ultimately, the four hope that with the support of the public, their organization will be able to address some of the misrepresentation and stereotypes against the South Asian community, and also inspire other students of different ethnic groups to share their stories and culture.

To find out more about The Desi Project and share this inspiring work with your students check out their website www.thedesiprojectpdx.org and Instagram @thedesiprojectpdx!

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