Meet Indrani Goradia of Indranis Light Foundation in The Woodlands

Today we’d like to introduce you to Indrani Goradia.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My foundation started as a result of me overcoming depression and getting my life on track. I was severely abused as a child and young adult and when I had my first child I wanted to hit him. I realized that something was wrong with me.

I did a TEDx talk on this subject. At 49 years of age my depression was diagnosed and I began to take steps to heal. After about 5 months, I began to see that life could be very different and I vowed to change my life significantly. I signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon and learned how to swim to do it. I was dead last and I got my medal. That set me on a healthy physical trajectory and I subsequently did 3 marathons. I began to realize that I could use my whole life to help others change their trajectory out of generational violence and choose peaceful and loving behaviors. I started doing group coaching in women’s shelters and grew my program out of those classes. I believe that each of us has been placed on this earth to use our skills and talents to heal the world. I also believe that ending domestic violence is one of the biggest things we can accomplish as a species.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I began contacting and building relationships with domestic violence shelters in 2006, I believed the administration staff would be so happy about my free training for their staff, that they would get me scheduled to teach at their shelter right away. During the initial conversations, their needs for my curriculum were immediate, as their shelter staff were clearly showing signs of burning out.

I was so excited about the opportunity for my new, Live A Brighter Life curriculum, to make a difference to these hard working staff members. After the initial conversations of excitement took place, the silence fell upon me. The program directors would not recontact me to schedule the training. I would call them back, and they would apologize due to their hectic work schedules and duties that were a priority. They would make promises about calling me back in a few days, but the calls would not come.

Now, over 10 years later, the reality over this struggle with building relationships with DV shelters is still real. These shelters are running with minimal staff, daily urgent matters, at full capacity with women and children, and are accountable to government, board of directors, and the public on so many levels. The bottom line? Although our training is free and in high demand, getting our training team into a room to make a difference in the lives of the shelter staff takes many months of follow up calls, emails, conversations, rescheduling, patience, and love.

The reason ILF keeps going? Because when we finally get to teach our training program at the shelter, the feedback and testimonials from the shelter staff makes this work worth every moment that it takes for them to receive our training.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Indranis Light Foundation – what should we know?
Indrani’s Light Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by me in 2006, with a global mission to end gender-based violence. I began teaching my unique and inspiring curriculum focused on victims of domestic violence. After 10 years of running my own foundation, I decided to add a training team. Since then, we have trained and certified volunteer trainers to help us develop and establish the “Caregiver Project.”

In 2015, I began to have conversations with the administrators and program directors in the domestic violence shelters about the need for extra training for their staff. They began sharing concerns about the high turnover rate of staff, and the burnout that naturally occurs due to the nature of this work. Within months, our foundation established the “Caregiver Project,” and immediately began our 2-day training program for the caregivers in domestic violence shelters. Indrani’s Light Foundation uniquely defined and identified the shelter staff members as “caregivers.” They include case workers, counselors, administrators, volunteers, and support staff who work directly with domestic violence victims. We teach them how to thrive, and not just survive in their work and personal lives.

Our pilot program started with three shelters in the Houston area. After receiving overwhelming positive feedback, I decided to focus our work on these caregivers in the United States. We are now beginning to reach out to other domestic violence shelters by sending them our “caregiver packages.” They are beautiful purple large envelopes filled with organic tea, self-care ideas and checklists, and information about our free training.

Our trainers travel to the shelters for this training. We promote fundraising campaigns every year to raise money to send our volunteer trainers to the shelters. It costs approximately $5,000 to host each Caregiver Project training course for the shelters.

I believe our Caregiver Project sets us apart from any other domestic violence prevention organization. After much research, we do not know of any other organization who provides the kind of extensive training and curriculum for the staff of DV shelters….. And we do not charge a fee for our training.

I am most proud of my training team, and our volunteer trainers who want to do this kind of challenging work in the world. Our trainers are teaching caregivers the tools needed to work around feelings of guilt and shame, having minimal boundary skills, and having a difficult time saying the word, “no.” We teach them more skills about how to practice self-care, and live a more balanced lives.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The quality that “drives” my bus is Bravery. I do not accept that some things are “just that way.” I question everything I can.

I question why women and children have to be abused in our society and WHY many people feel that is acceptable. I have deep respect for the power of the human to change. I did it and every one can.

Pricing:

• We give our programs FREE to shelters

Contact Info:

• Address: Indranis Light Foundation
  9595 Six Pines Drive ste 8210
  The Woodlands TX 77380
• Website: www.indranislight.org
• Phone: 184442ENDGBV
• Email: info@indranislight.org
• Instagram: indranis light
• Facebook: Facebook.com/indranislight
• Twitter: @indranis_light

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