Laal NYC

Laal provides resources Bengali women need to live healthy, engaged, joyful lives. Instagram:
Twitter: LaalNyc

06/21/2023

Have you moved your body today? Our members sure have!

Laal offers 6 weekly yoga and wellness classes to help our members release those feel-good endorphins and dopamine to enhance their sense of well-being and reduce stress while simultaneously improving strength, balance, flexibility, and overall physical health.

Learn more about our yoga classes on our website!
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06/09/2023

Join us on June 7th, 2024 for our fundraising gala, Laal Grishmo! Mark your calendars 📅 clear your schedules 🗓️ and save the date ☑️!

Join us for a joyous, lavish, and extravagant night celebrating our rich culture, heritage, and identities with Bengali food, live performances by local artists, and a dance floor waiting for you to bust out your best moves. ✨

We can’t wait to see you there!

06/08/2023

Thank you to the NY Nanum Foundation for awarding us $5,000 for our Conversational ESL Class! NY Nanum Foundation

06/05/2023

The time we have a RE-introduction, we’re incredibly pleased to have Mohua Sultana as our Program Coordinator!

Mohua started at Laal as our Research & Policy Coordinator but will now oversee all our Programs. She is currently facilitating the Digital Literacy workshop and working on our Political ESL curriculum for Fall 2023 which will educate participants on the importance of having a political & activist mindset. She will be developing curriculums for Laal Baghan, our Community Garden, and Laal Raana, our Bengali cooking program, for the upcoming year as well as leading RJI Cycle 3 and partaking in different coalition meetings to represent Laal.

Mohua was drawn to work for Laal because “it advocates for everything I am passionate about and strives to find solutions to deep-rooted issues within the Bengali community. Bengali women need a space for their voices to be heard and their needs to be met in addition to having access to resources for their overall well-being; Laal does precisely that. Laal’s mission, ‘literacy means liberation’ resonates with me because I truly believe knowledge is power and no one can take that away from anyone.”

Mohua recently graduated from Columbia University with a MA in South Asian Studies focused on the importance of understanding Bangladeshi Muslim (and diasporic) identities in order to create s*x education curricula that are relatable to Bangladeshi Muslims. She would like to ultimately develop curriculums and strategies to improve the s*xual health and well-being of the community.

She also has a personal project known as The South Asian Feminist on Instagram. You can check out for educational content related to the South Asian experience. She is also working on a website to give The South Asian Feminist a bigger platform where others can contribute.

05/22/2023

Another welcome! This time we’re extending our welcome to Jamila Khan, our Grants Administrator! She will be working on prospecting private and public funding opportunities, organizing our grant database, and collaborating with the team!

As a lifelong Bangladeshi American New Yorker, Jamila has never seen direct services available for Bangladeshi womxn in the community with cultural sensitivity. In her own words, “This has deeply impacted me since we are one of the largest growing communities and have been here for decades with a vibrant history in NYC. I wanted to be a part of Laal's team because the work being done is by Bengali womxn for Bengali womxn. I am thrilled to be a part of this growing team!”

Jamila is an avid global traveler, foodie and loves bridging the gap between community and culture. She is currently working on two projects: a podcast to understand the experiences womxn of color face in leadership positions and art highlighting the social justice work she does. “I enjoy amplifying the voices of womxn and the community around me who are doing incredible work through storytelling while having fun doing it!”

05/19/2023

We’re excited to introduce Thalia Majdalawieh, Laal’s new Yoga Instructor! Thalia will be support Laal members to reap the mental and physical benefits of practicing yoga.

In her own words, “Yoga is not only beneficial for the connection of mind and body, but it is also a nice way to calm the mind, and disconnect from the demands of our everyday life…Every time I finish my practice , I feel a rebirth within my mind and body. I am excited to share my divine feminine alongside other divine womxn through Laal’s yoga and wellness classes.”

Thalia’s personal yoga practice started in 2011 which immediately helped her mental health and personal growth. She received her Yoga Teacher Training in 2013 and traveled to Colombia in 2021 to receive her 200 hour yoga certification. She is also certified in reiki healing, meditation, and prenatal/postnatal yoga.

Thalia spent much of her childhood in the Middle East exploring her roots and studying religion, and culture. She received a degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, with a minor in Digital Media Studies. She is a licensed Registered Dental Hygienist, teaches yoga in wellness centers, and coaches high school volleyball. In her free time, she enjoys writing spoken word poetry, recording podcasts, making meditation candles & essential oils, healing, and good vibes.

05/17/2023

We’re so excited to make another introduction, Nasima Alam! Nasima is one of Laal’s very first members and now is part of Laal’s team! She has been an integral part of Laal’s growth from the very beginning. 🌱

Nasima will be co-leading Laal’s efforts for outreach in the community, phone banking, and helping keep our headquarters, Laal Baari, in order and looking its best.

In Bangladesh, Nasima attended TNT school Mogbazar in Dhaka before having three sons, one after another, and devoted herself to being a mother full-time with no time for other jobs.

After coming to the U.S. she joined as a volunteer at a local church and eventually found Laal and began taking classes. At Laal, Nasima loves to learn as much as she can and continues to participate in all of our programming. Nasima has never missed any Laal classes or programs, and considers Laal to be a major part of her American family.
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05/16/2023

Please help us welcome Jackie Torriente, Laal’s Senior Accounting Associate.! She will be in charge of our bookkeeping, and setting up procedures for the processing of payroll and AP payment submissions.

Jackie has worked with Laal’s ED & Co-Founder, Sanjana, previously and is excited to be “part of such a great organization founded by such a wonderful individual and will definitely work hard to make the mission of Laal stand out!”

Outside of work, Jackie loves salsa dancing, braiding hair, and creating handmade earrings. She is also a pageant mom whose daughter won IUM Miss Pr***en South New York. Jackie loves helping others succeed and has taken courses to become a Preparer of Immigration Forms to assist individuals as many cannot afford lawyers, but need help.

We’re so excited to have you on board, Jackie!

05/03/2023

Laal’s Spring Programs are just around the corner! This quarter we are offering 50% more ESL classes at three different levels and 75% more Yoga classes. We’ll be hosting our fourth cycle of the Reproductive Justice Initiative and along with our core classes, we have some exciting workshops like Digital Literacy, Immigrant Rights Workshops, and our Womxn’s Support Group. All of these critical courses will help our participants live healthy, engaged, joyful lives!

Registration from May 8 - 10th at Laal Baari. Contact [email protected] to learn more!

05/01/2023

We’re still stunned by how much we’ve grown since starting in 2019! Read more about our finances and how we efficiently allocate our budget to provide resources to Bengali womxn in the Bronx in our most recent Annual Report by following our link-in-bio!

04/28/2023

We’re excited to make another introduction, Rubana Hossain! Rubana will be utilizing her background as a Public Health Researcher to research, implement and facilitate our mental health workshops alongside Mousumi. She will also be conducting 1:1’s with the Laal’s staff to reflect on their work with Laal and ways to take care of themselves while serving Laal’s womxn.

In her own words, “as a Bangladeshi Immigrant, who has had the privilege of pursuing higher education I struggle with having identities of both privilege and oppression. I use this struggle to fuel my passion to understand, question, and advocate for immigrant health…My research interests include understanding and reducing mental health stigma and health. I also write strong voice-driven stories to advocate for mental health, colorism, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the Bengali community in NYC.”

Rubana also works in the field of Geriatric Research at the Department of Veterans Affairs, focused on understanding the unique challenges of older veterans with complex chronic conditions. She graduated with a Master of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Welcome to the team, Rubana!

Address

The Bronx, NY
10467

Telephone

+13475013027

Website

https://linktr.ee/laal_nyc

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