Today we’d like to introduce you to Upasna Kakroo.
Hi, Upasna; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
For almost almost-20 years, I focused on technology, digital, and marketing/communications as a professional. Then, in 2022, I was in a team meeting when a colleague commented that non-native English speakers can’t be creative. It gave me a pause, and I tried to dig into the data. The ignorance stemmed from a systemic gap in our education and book industries. About 70% of children’s and YA literature lead characters are white or animals. Only 10% of books K-12 are written by authors of color. This is when about 50% of our students are diverse, especially in cities. To solve this problem, I founded a nonprofit, Peerbagh, to diversify our bookshelves and build storytellers. We spotlight South-Asian storytellers as a way to bring rich stories to all children in our communities. We hope all kids can see themselves in stories and know that all stories matter.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve worked in nonprofits before, which are large billion-dollar enterprises, like the University of Michigan. So, functionally, I was aware of how things work. However, working in a grassroots nonprofit means there is always a consistent struggle to find sponsors, resources, and funders. Over 90% of all philanthropic funding in the country goes to less than 10% of nonprofits. And that means starting takes a lot of work. It’s also hard to find parents, families, and educators to see our work because most partner selection happens with contacts or existing links, so breaking in as a new nonprofit is harder. I am an immigrant who did not grow up here and didn’t have many organic connections from my childhood, so building relationships and showcasing our work is challenging, and we always have to find ways to do more. Recently, someone looked at our books and toolkits at an event and remarked, “Oh good, you’re still producing these.” Sure, we are still behind books. I hope to bring the joy of reading and stories into our lives so that it doesn’t shock anyone. As Rudine Sims Bishop says, books and stories are the mirrors, windows, and sliding doors into new worlds and cultures. Storytelling is even more important than the opposable thumb in human evolution because it helps us imagine a future. We are imagining a future of a world full of rich stories that engage, teach, and celebrate our humanness.
Thanks for sharing that. You could tell us more about your business next.
Peerbagh is an independent 501c3 nonprofit in Austin. We work with a mission to diversify bookshelves and build storytellers. We create South-Asia-inspired storytelling workshops, events, toolkits, children’s books, and audio stories for kids, parents, schools, libraries, and educators. We were selected as a SXSW Edu semifinalist in 2024.
Our programs include:
- Storytelling workshops we create for schools, kids, and libraries.
- Saturday StoryTime workshops are created online for kids on each Saturday of the month.
- A monthly themed storytelling-based toolkit, the Maker Box, for families.
- Varta- a storytelling festival that travels to 3 cities globally and engages thousands!
- Blue Sky is a certification program for teachers who want to use storytelling as a teaching tool.
- Our organization also partners with corporations to engage them as sponsors or help host storytelling-based events for engagement and communications.
- We also work to revive language and oral storytelling traditions (especially folk) from Southeast Asia through our work.
We are proud of being supported by the City of Austin, Ann Arbor, the State of Uttarakhand (India), and partners like the Austin Public Library, Ann Arbor District Library, and many schools that have supported this work. We hope to connect with our parent community to bring this programming to all kids in Austin and the world!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Diverse Storytelling makes our world more prosperous. While we spotlight South-Asian stories, they reflect our cultural roots and are meant for all kids. Books written by color authors do not just belong to families of color. By immersing ourselves in various cultures and storytelling nuances, we grow as people, develop cognitive empathy, and improve critical thinking. Our work is for everyone who understands the power of stories and is willing to come in with a curious mindset!
Pricing:
- $20 monthly membership for Maker Box members
- Free or affordable programming and events
Contact Info:
- Website: peerbagh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peerbagh.stories/
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/peerbagh
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@peerbagh
