Sapna NYC Directors Diya Basu-Sen and Saba Naseem interviewed with host Bob Lee at BronxNet TV about Sapna’s mission, programs and impact in New York City, especially in the Bronx. As the only non-profit in the Bronx offering culturally and linguistically accessible health education services and case management, Sapna has become a trusted resource in the community.

We discussed Sapna’s current programs such as ESL classes and Diabetes Prevention & Management classes.

“What’s unique about our diabetes program is that its culturally and linguistically appropriate for the community we serve. The facilitators give the class in Bengali. When we talk about portion control it’s about the foods they eat, not steak and broccoli,” said Saba, explaining the importance of providing health education catered to the community.

Additionally, we discussed our new ASHA program, which is a program for young South Asian women who wish to go to community college or are currently enrolled in community college.

“What we’re seeing and what has always been the case is that younger people of color, particularly women, have higher dropout rates in community college as well as lower matriculation rates. This ASHA program is to help these women, not only to get into college but also to finish in a timely way,” said Diya.

As part of the program, Sapna will help participants open bank accounts and provide them financial literacy training. The initiative also includes a match-savings component, in which the students would save a certain amount a week and then get up to $1,000 of their savings matched by Sapna to be used towards their education.