Who We Serve

SAYA serves a diverse group of youth, hailing from various ethnic and religious backgrounds - many of whom identify as South Asian, descending from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Guyana, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Trinidad and Tobago. Many are first- and second- generation immigrant youth of color who face numerous barriers that hinder their chances to be academically and socially successful, graduate high school and attend college.

Meet Our Youth

Our History

Established in 1996, SAYA is one of the first South Asian organizations created in the United States. Seeing the critical need among New York City immigrant youth for additional mentorship and academic support both inside and outside of school, founder Sayu Bhojwani was inspired to increase culturally-affirming resources for low-income, underserved youth. She had the vision of creating an organization dedicated to the South Asian community - one that met the needs of the community over 28 years ago, and continues to do so today. Over the course of our history, SAYA has broken down the “model minority” myth, and paved the way for greater attention and investments in social services for the South Asian population. As our communities continue to diversify, our guiding principles of inclusivity and belonging are further exemplified by our expansion to include all youth across the city and our commitment to transformational cross-racial solidarity.

SAYA began as a small after school program in Elmhurst, before expanding to year round programming at a number of schools. Today, we operate programs at elementary, middle, and high schools in Queens and Brooklyn, along with our Elmhurst-based community center - serving a growing number of youth across all sites each year. It is the only organization of its kind in the NYC metropolitan area providing inclusive and secular comprehensive youth development services to the community, while centering on the South-Asian experience.