Jakara Movement

The Jakara Movement is a grassroots community-building organization working to empower, educate, and organize Punjabi Sikhs, and other marginalized communities; to advance their health, education, and economic, social, and political voice. We strive to create a Seva “selfless service”-inspired community, rooted in the struggle of our foremothers and forefathers, committed to gender equality and caste abolitionism to develop powerful, informed, and organized youth leadership, locally-rooted residential power, and community capacity that will be a key partner in building a better future for all. Being one of California's first and only Punjabi grassroots organizations, we focus on equitable outreach by going directly to marginalized communities and providing resources and information in their native languages. Over time we have established a strong relationship with various communities based on trust, responsiveness, and an approach utilizing humble door-to-door canvassing, phone-banking in language, tabling and consistent presence at places of community gathering, relationships with school districts, connections and partnerships with ethnic media, our own robust social media presence, trust that helps us create small focus groups, and other methods to connect with community members.