My name is Lakshmi Karan and I've been a Maitri volunteer for nearly 5 years. In this article I'd like to share with you a truly magical effect I have repeatedly witnessed - a woman's transformation from a helpless victim to that of an empowered individual. This magic does not involve wands, spells or cauldrons (or even a PhD from Hogwarts!) but it draws upon ample doses of dedication, faith, compassion, love and teamwork.

Domestic violence (DV) lives up to every bit of crudeness you feel when you utter the words. It often happens in the privacy of what should be safe spaces (home and family) and it violates an individual's free will (physically, emotionally and financially). It is pervasive, with total disregard for geographic boundaries, ethnicity, age, sex, education or financial status. The stench of DV extends from the country club enclaves to inner city projects - preying on those vulnerable. The one common thread that binds these diverse factors is POWER. Batterers strive to control every aspect of their victims' lives. It is a form of enslavement that happens behind public facades of marriage and relationships.

Why do we let something so primitive and uncouth happen in our societies? Why do we tolerate the subjugation of our loved ones? What stops us from speaking out? Why do we not fight for a family and community we aspire to live in rather than accept the one we have? There are many complex reasons to explain dysfunctional human behavior and I'm no expert on the matter. However, I have worked with several DV victims and their families and strongly feel that one of the key barriers is that of SHAME.

To any DV victim or their parents, siblings and neighbors who are reading this:

There is NO SHAME in speaking truth and wanting a safe and happy life. There is no shame in protecting loved ones and supporting their right to be safe and happy. It's what you do when you love and care about someone. You stand by them.

Maitri protects the privacy of our clients, so I will not be naming them. But in the three examples below, I'm sure you will recognize a familiar face - someone we may have encountered in our daily lives - who has been a victim of DV and through their resilience and persistent has now build a safe future for themselves and their children.

"A" - a triple college degree holder, 6-figure earning tech exec, mother of 2. She was abused by her husband for 10 of her 15 year marriage. She made the decision to seek help when he hit her 8 year old daughter for the first time. Today, she is raising her kids with the support of her family and in the safety of a loving home.

"B" - an uneducated, domestic worker at a wealthy home. Faced with physical threats and made to work 18 hour days without breaks, she was a hidden indentured slave right in the heart of Silicon Valley. Now, she has a well paid-regular job and is happily married with a child.

"C" - a newly wed bride, joining her husband in the US, suffers physical and verbal abuse daily from her in-laws. She has no family of her own and is not allowed to leave the house by herself. Today, she is back in her home country with her parents after securing a legal divorce that protected her assets and provided her with the security that her marriage was unable to offer. She has recently remarried.

These women are leading productive, fulfilled lives because they fought through the smoke and mirrors of shame. I am immensely honored and proud to have met such strong women. Others like them deserve our support and respect as they strive to move from being helpless to being empowered. It doesn't take magic to make this happen - it often only takes a phone call.

"Myriad of learning opportunities"
Anjali Nadig

I started as a Maitri legal intern in January 2011, and have really been excited by the myriad of learning opportunities available to me in the Legal Department. My internship has been a great fit, as I attended U.C. Berkeley School of Law after transferring in my second year from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Prior to law school, I attended New York University where I earned my Masters of Public Administration as well as my Bachelors degree in Philosophy from Miami University (OH).

As an intern at Maitri, I assist the Legal Department with their transitional housing, immigration and federal and state statutory legal issues. I am also on my way to becoming a 40-hour trained domestic violence Peer Counselor, and look forward to directly advocating for clients as a California State Bar certified attorney. One of my favorite projects was assisting Maitri's Legal Department attain recognition from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which would authorize Maitri to provide immigration law advice for its clients, such as how to obtain U-visas and VAWA waivers. I look forward to continuing my internship at Maitri and being a part of its great work empowering women.

The Ultimate Summer Experience
Krittika Patil

Every student looks forward to the summer following their first year of college, relaxing, eating home cooked food and getting up at odd hours of the afternoon to make up for the all-nighters at school. In my case, with the opportunity to have a summer internship at Maitri, I was able to find the perfect balance of relaxation, recharging and work experience. It is probably much easier to find a job where administrative work dominate the work day, however jobs/internships at Maitri provide the opportunity to learn valuable skills in a non profit setting which are hard to obtain otherwise. Interning at Maitri helped me improve my organizational and communication skills while working with editors and managers of local and national publications.

Persistent work resulting in having public service announcements printed in various newspapers felt very thrilling - I have never worked so determinedly to achieve results in a workplace, and to actually see my first printed newspaper article in La Oferta that I had followed through until the end, was a very empowering moment. Although I was not directly communicating with Maitri clients in the office, I was exposed to the environment in which Maitri staff works. Sarah and Vishalakshi were always helpful and had a great deal of patience while supervising my work, while the staff was accommodating and friendly to me, as the summer intern.

Maitri provided a very unique and enriching experience. I was introduced to a very delicate yet powerful social issue very crucial to awareness of my surroundings as a young woman in today's world.

"This experience will forever be with me"
Tamara McCawley

My name is Tamara, Tamara Marie,
and this is how it came to be.
I worked in construction for 12 years,
then I decided to change my career.
I enrolled at Heald College to get a degree
Associates in applied sciences with a major in IT.
Now that I will be graduating
I am doing my internship here at Maitri.
I work with all women here, to my surprise,
At my last job I worked with all guys.
Everyone here made me feel comfortable,
I am learning to write in Hindi and Tamil.
When asked to update their resource list
I reformatted it all, I could n't resist.
Yet the one task which was the most challenging
Was the fundraiser manual I would be creating.
Now here I was without a thought or a clue,
I had no idea where to start or what to do.
I gathered information from past Maitri events
then started researching again and again.
Soon I had a plan in mind
The Maitri manual I began to design.
I smiled to myself when I realized,
I was enjoying this task that at first I despised.
These women put their hearts in all that they do,
Helping women help themselves and children too.
I will pray victims come to the realization,
Places like Maitri can help them in violent situations.
I will always look up to the women at Maitri
This experience will forever be with me.

"An amazing experience"
Rajni Ram

I am Rajni, born and raised in the Fiji Islands and moved to the USA in1997. I'm currently enrolled at Heald College in Milpitas. I will graduate this October with an Associates of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. I began my internship at Maitri in August. I am multi-lingual. I am fluent in Fijian and Hindi and get by in Punjabi and Urdu. I have worked for a Certified Public Accounting Firm in Los Gatos as a Bookkeeper performing all small business accounting functions, and as an Administrative Assistant for 5 years at various corporations.

At Maitri, I'm working with the Community Outreach Program, handling the Apartment Outreach project. The goal of this project is to reach out to the South Asian population living in the apartment complexes in Santa Clara, Alameda, and San Mateo counties. I really like working on this project because I come from the same background and it is amazing to see how we can educate our South Asian population and help them in crisis.

I feel privileged working at Maitri for multiple reasons, primarily the fact that Maitri is focused on standing for women's rights and empowering the victims of domestic violence. It's been a pleasure to see the devotion of the Maitri staff in helping the families that walk through their doors. These folks all represent different parts of South Asia, yet come together as a team and work together to end violence against women. It has been an amazing experience for me to become a part of a group that is comprised of various cultures, religions, languages, customs, ideas and beliefs. Maitri work towards fostering self-reliance and self-confidence in women from South Asia; I personally enjoy seeing the South Asian diversity at Maitri and I am very pleased with my experience working here.