SAPNA- Our Hopes and Dreams

Over the centuries, The Banyan tree has taken on significance as a symbol of fertility, life and resurrection – a fitting symbol for ‘VoicesUnderTheBanyanTree’. This storytelling initiative reflects the heart of SEWA-AIFW’S mission: to serve, support and enhance South Asian family wellness. Voices Under the Banyan Tree shares the journeys of community members who have wandered far from their ancestral homes, traversing new frontiers and setting down roots and networks in the US. Through their stories of resilience, achievement and hope, we honor them, and celebrate the vibrant tapestry of the South Asian diaspora.

Today’s story features the dedicated individuals who have devoted their time, energy and care to the SAPNA program, bringing hope and joy to South Asian families in need of additional support for children with neurodivergent diagnoses.

“We are not creating programs for the sake of creating programs. We are creating programs to help families and individuals. And when we find these points of connection where people really resonate with a program, and the impact that it’s having on families, then we are on this journey of understanding what it means to be neurodivergent in the South Asian community. There is not a roadmap out there and so we can stay flexible and learn together what our community needs”: Anjuli Mishra Cameron, CEO SEWA-AIFW.

In what proved to be a fortuitous meeting with Anjuli Cameron at a ‘SAWN-South Asian Women’s Network’ Christmas party in 2023, Ratna Malakapalli discussed her dreams and ideas for a program for kids on the neurodivergent spectrum.

Although SEWA had the origins of a SAPNA program from Covid times, featuring podcasts and zoom meetings, it needed to be rekindled. While Ratna initially visualized the renewed program as a tutoring opportunity for kids needing focused attention, the program has evolved to a Social Skills Group, with a focus on basic reading and writing, and an opportunity for interaction and discourse with the families and children. Social outings have also become a critical part of the agenda enjoyed by all members of the SAPNA group, providing the opportunity to mingle for the 6-7 families who attend regularly.

Ratna Malakapalli – Program Lead

Ratna moved to the US as a young, excited bride in 1991. She encountered her first Minnesota winter in all its quiet stillness after the busy hot streets of Hyderabad. Her primary focus became her young son and supporting her husband’s career which necessitated moves to Oklahoma and Singapore. Ratna got into tutoring early on, volunteering for the ‘Bucket Brigade’ tutoring program, training to be a supplemental teacher in the Burnsville school system. This created a weekly structure that aligned with her son’s schedule, and led to a full time position in the Special Education Department: working with kids for whom English was not a primary language and also kids on the autism spectrum.

Their lives were changed permanently when they lost their beloved son at the age of 15 in a vehicular accident in 2010. He had been the “radius” of their lives. “We could not let darkness engulf us and faith became our guiding force”. At the suggestion of a close family friend, they found a new sense of purpose, with a non profit called ‘Spread your love’. Funds raised at the memorial service fueled collaboration with a school in Hyderabad -Sri Vidhya- for special needs kids and adults, and later, their charitable scope broadened to working with other institutions.

Ratna is the ‘SAPNA Program Lead’ in addition to her 3-day a week full time job as an Educational Assistant at Lion’s Gate Academy Charter School for NeuroDivergent children in Minnetonka. Working in this arena is a natural calling for her. Her son had developmental delays and as a mother she could feel the “anxiety and agony” at not knowing what was going on with him. She could empathize and relate to other parents, especially those from her South Asian culture: “We left India and came here with big dreams and chased those dreams. Thinking that dreams will come true and only then my life will be successful is a flaw. Working hard is the only thing in my control with an expectation of what the result will be. But that result is not in my hand. I believe in a higher power”.

In addition to her SAPNA work, Ratna gets tremendous satisfaction from her one on one tutoring with Aaradhya Kareni most Tuesday nights, fulfilling the initial dream she had discussed with Anjuli in 2023. “She is my only student. I focus on her”. Ratna has seen lots of progress. Initially, it took time to understand her academic skills, verbal and non verbal. “Even her parents did not know”. She knew that it was impossible for Aaradhya to get ‘one on one’ coaching in the public school system. So, her joy knew no bounds when Aaradhya’s mother told her a story at their Como zoo ‘community based instruction and learning outing’. Aaradhya verbalized all the ‘sight’ words off the card, at a time when Ratna was still coaching her on the alphabet.

In honor of all her contributions to SEWA’s SAPNA program and other South Asian organizations, Ratna was recognized with SEWA’s Outstanding Service Award at their annual ‘Cultivating Hope” event in October 2025. The award recognizes special individuals who have made a monumental impact as a volunteer in the community.

Ratna’s close partner in the SAPNA program is Shradha Ahmed. Their collaboration and unity is one of the key reasons for the success of the program.

Shradha Ahmed – SAPNA Coordinator and Therapeutic Support

Shradha was born in England as a result of the Indian diaspora migration from East Africa. She was only 10 months old when they moved to Minnesota in 1975 to be close to family settled here.

Volunteerism infuses every fiber of Shradha’s being, and she engaged in many programs through her HS years. After obtaining her undergrad degree, she accepted a position at Fraser Child and Family Center, a leader in the disability and inclusion movement. Her next job took her to Headstart, with a focus on early childhood education and development. A mentoring supervisor at Headstart encouraged her to get her Masters in Social Work at the University of Minnesota. After her Masters’, Shradha continued her journey with jobs at Anoka county, social work in schools, adult and children therapy, and a stint with Corporate America. With the birth of her children in 2006, she took a break from social work, with part time jobs that gave her family the benefit structure they needed.

It was not until she started working at SEWA-AIFW, where she has been for over 2 years, that Shradha could say “I found my home”. She had known of the organization through the community grapevine, and acquaintance with the Chaudhary’s who were family friends. She met Anjuli Cameron at a SAWN social networking event which eventually led to a position at SEWA. She now serves as the ‘Emotional & Wellness Support Program Coordinator and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), working across a range of programs that include SAPNA: her role focusing on ‘Parent Support Activities’, and other mental health initiatives.

When Ratna, Anjuli and Shradha were planning the rekindled SAPNA program, it was difficult to identify the families that could benefit from participation in the program. Fortuitously, Shradha attended an ASU (Autism Sibling Universe) event in the fall of 2024 by Indu Eati, at which Anjuli was a featured speaker. Attending that event and the serendipity of being there, felt pre-ordained. She met so many of the families who comprise SAPNA today! It all felt like it was finally meant to be!

SAPNA held their first event in December 2024, themed ‘cocoa and cookies’, followed by a smaller event to celebrate Valentine’s Day/People We Care About. In April of 2025, in honor of Autism awareness acceptance month, they held their first family sensory activity: bowling followed by dinner. Being a community event, a broader group was invited, including Indu Eati. It was meaningful seeing the parents interacting with kids in a fun way. Since then a more regular rhythm has been established with 1-2 Saturday social skills sessions a month, and one social event. These have included movies and pizza; mini-golf; summer celebration at Crystal community center, Diwali, Diyas and Dandiyas; and an outing to the Como Zoo. This exposure to SEWA has also led to the moms attending other SEWA programs such as Chai and Chat, providing social interaction, emotional support and overall healing experiences. SAPNA also receives tremendous support from SEWA. If Shradha is not available, other SEWA personnel will step in: Omid Yaqoobi, Shekhar Alluri, Allison Precht and Dasharath Yata have all helped out.

Shradha communicates weekly with her SAPNA families organizing social events and disseminating information on other SEWA programs/activities. A recent example was the movie and pizza outing in December.

The gallery below is a collage of various social outings organized by Shradha.

The Families

Three of the SAPNA families are featured below.

Roopa Rao

Roopa Rao was one of the families who connected with Shradha at the Autism Sibling Universe (ASU) event in the Fall of 2024. Ronak was a shy child of 5, when Roopa enrolled him at the Minnesota Autism Center in Woodbury. A one year program that entailed a one and a half hour round trip from their home in Blaine, 5 days a week, brought him out of his shell. Ronak is now 20, and “loves talking to people and asking questions but he still has cognitive disabilities. He has made a fantastic connection with Shradha. He follows her like a puppy. Both Ratna and Shradha are very hardworking”. When they joined the SAPNA program, Roopa was not looking for anything educational, but enhancing Ronak’s and her community social connections. SAPNA has helped the whole family emotionally and “built a community bond between all of us. We all crave it”. SAPNA “is very important for my son. He likes all these activities. It can get a bit boring with just mum and dad”.

Satish and Sunita Kareni

The Kareni’s met Shradha also at the Autism Sibling Universe (ASU) event in the Fall of 2024. “The SAPNA team has a sense of responsibility and really wants to help us. The kids have a sense of freedom to be who they are”. Aaradhya (11) had limited social connections prior to the family engaging with SAPNA, and being tutored one on one by Ratna. She was reluctant to engage with people and would run out of class. However since the Summer of 2024, she has opened up socially, is more cooperative at school, and can read and write ‘short’ words phonetically. “Lakshya (15) is more hyperactive but he gets a sense of comfort from the SAPNA sessions. At a recent movie outing in December, Aaradhya knew all the Disney characters in Zootopia, and both enjoyed the movie. I really appreciate all their efforts”.

Suresh and Sujata Rangamani

Sujata and Suresh’s son Sanju (20) loves puzzles. At a charitable auction organized to raise money, Sanju’s finished, framed puzzles were auctioned off. At this event they connected with the organizers of the ASU event in 2024, at which they met Shradha and Anjuli and joined SAPNA. Though they live in Shakopee, they have made a point to attend as many SAPNA events as possible. Sanju is an empathetic young man feeling others joys, pain and sadness. He loves music, and claps and cheers to Pop, Bollywood and Bhajans. He is most often seen with his headphones which provide a calming effect by reducing sensory noise. The entire family have benefited in so many ways from SAPNA: Sanju is learning valuable social skills, tolerating other peers and having people around him; the South Asian community connection is invaluable, sharing similar home experiences, trials, and celebrations such as Diwali and religious events.

SAPNA Endures

“Often times our interactions are so assumption based. We interact, assume certain things and expect to see our assumptions; and based on that we form our opinions of people and start categorizing them. My long term goal through this work is to minimize making those assumptions. To see the smile on the parent’s faces, makes me smile, and makes me come back week after week”! Ratna Malakapalli

Discussion: Please send us your thoughts, by posting a comment at the end of the blog, and/or sending an email to ‘ruby@sewa-aifw.org’.

Our Mission

Sewa-Aifw is a nonprofit organization committed to serving, supporting, and enhancing family wellness for many communities, especially the vulnerable and underserved communities, in the Twin Cities and around Minnesota. We provide health care access, wellness information and resources, access to family violence resources and supports, and elder socialization activities

We envision a community that is healthy and violence-free, with self-determined women and engaged and supported elders and families