About a year ago, when Sanku Bose talked about the Banga Sammelan coming to Houston to me, I had requested that there be a “women’s forum.” At that time he had said, “I cannot promise anything Rakadi, but I will try!” And so, the Women’s Forum!

For too long, women from our subcontinent – even though we are powerful, educated, have carried ourselves and our families through the storms of life – have not had a support group or resource center to turn to! Whether in good times or bad, it makes life that much easier when one knows where to turn to for information, help, and networking.

For women who belong to the first generation of immigrants, it is important to learn the laws that exist to help us, the financial venues that are available to us, the do’s and don’t’s with regards to our health, the resources available for wellbeing, the resources that are available to us for opening and conducting a business….and the list goes on! There are several volunteer organizations that help women in distress, and yet woefully, those that need it most know nothing of them!

So, we hope with this, the first women’s forum, to open the doors for women to hear from other women about the how to’s, where to’s and when to’s on a myriad of topics.

The topics we will be covering are: Law, Finances, Healthcare, Business and Aging. This is the first attempt, so maybe it will be less than perfect, but this is the first pass.

We want the girls that we gave birth to, to meet, network and create their own support groups across the country….and my sincere hope is that it will not end with the Banga Sammelan 2006; that the younger generation will create blogs and other means of keeping in touch and holding hands, keeping in touch, helping each other – with information, with kindness and with actual help.

THIS IS ABOUT WOMEN LEADING WOMEN!