Kahani is an intergenerational community for South Asian girls & women to create stories that represent our experiences, explore our history, and write our future together - all while having fun!
We create summer camps and year-round clubs to support South Asian women from girlhood to adulthood in telling their stories and learning about their past.
Every Kahani program includes:
making creative projects and telling stories that represent South Asian experiences
learning about South Asian history & culture from a feminist and inclusive lens
finding joy in intergenerational community, open conversations, and participating in a space that centers our health and well-being
Kahani for Girls
Our programs start for 8-13 year old girls. We focus on helping girls build confidence in their interests and identities as they learn to navigate their world - while making lifelong friends along the way!
Kahani for Teens
Our programs for 13-18 year olds focus on helping adolescents build leadership skills and give back to their community through our counselor program. They also receive support from our women’s community.
Kahani for Women
Our programs for 18+ year old women focus on bringing childhood to adulthood, with fun, creative and restful retreats, as well as opportunities to give back through our camps and clubs for girls & teens.
What we do at Kahani
We bring South Asian history to life.
Kahani programs include a range of fun activities, from art to dance to STEM, to connect campers to the inspiring, complex, real South Asian women who have came before them. We use history to help campers question and take power over the narratives that impact them everyday, from American beauty standards, limiting gender norms, to diasporic identity, and more.
We tell stories that represent South Asian experiences.
There are very few representations of South Asian women in American media, which means we don’t have a library of stories with which to make sense of our life experiences. Our curriculum bridges the representation gap by giving participants the skills to tell and share their own stories, and connecting them to real, nuanced stories of South Asian women from the past and present.
We celebrate women’s joy and friendship.
Women and girls struggle with mental health challenges from youth into adulthood far more than their male-identifying counterparts. For South Asian girls, part of this mental health crisis includes encountering models of beauty and life that are not designed for them. Research tells us that positive female friendships play a huge role in girls’ wellbeing, helping them maintain emotional equilibrium and enhance their self-worth. At Kahani, our participants build lifelong friendships, meet supportive mentors, and practice skills that bolster their emotional well-being.
About Us
Kahani is an intergenerational, volunteer-run organization. Our mission is to tell the stories of real South Asian women from the past and present, from our homelands and diasporas, and to advocate for these stories to be represented in American media.
We do this by working year-round to create a storytelling summer camp. We work with 8-13 year old campers, 14-21 year old counselors, and 21+ year old staff and mentors to create stories together based on our experiences growing up South Asian in America. We also conduct research on and share stories from South Asian women’s history, to put our stories of the present in context. In the end, Camp Kahani is a summer camp for all of us, campers and staff, youth and adults alike.
Get Involved.
Be a Counselor
Are you 15-21 years old and interested in being a counselor? Email us at campkahani@gmail.com to get involved.
Join Our Team
Do you want to reimagine the South Asian stories we see in American media? Do you want to make history accessible and relevant? Do you want to help South Asian youth amplify their voices? Email us at campkahani@gmail.com.
Reach out!
Are you curious to learn more about who we are and what we do? We’re excited to hear from you! Email us at campkahani@gmail.com.