Our Story
Camp Desi Roots was born in an indoor pool with our 3 kids during our first family road trip in 2024, when my husband (Anoop) and I (Prerna) decided to build the kind of camp for our kids that we never had a chance to go to ourselves. Camp Desi Roots is our dream for our kids, a dream of building an intentional South Asian community that returns to, and grows up with camp every year, a dream that all of our desi kids learn their family histories and feel empowered to tell their own stories of their desi roots.
Prerna takes immense pride in her South Asian immigrant identity - she immigrated to the US with her family from Bombay when she was 9, and didn’t dig into her own roots until college. Prerna is a lifelong educator and social justice advocate - as a former Philly principal, NYC teacher, and principal coach, she has deep experience in curriculum development and program design for children and adults, and loves teaching kids of all ages!
Anoop was born in Queens, NY to a family who immigrated to the US from South India. When he’s not wrestling with our three kids, he’s a family doctor, serving the sickest of the sick and fighting the good fight for health equity. Prerna and Anoop are also both lovers of nature and hiking, so this camp combines everything that brings them joy!
Why Camp Desi Roots?
We build awareness and pride in our Desi roots
Our kids live in a world of exclusion and othering, where knowing who we are, truly looking deep into ourselves and our shared stories is a necessary anchor to help us stay grounded and true to ourselves. Our kids need intentional spaces where they learn about themselves, their families, and each other in meaningful ways, where they take pride in their Desi roots.
We foster a sense of belonging
We are a large, extended South Asian family at Camp Desi Roots. All our kids belong, all our kids’ voices matter. We create space for each other, we affirm each other, we accept each other as we are, and we push each other to be our best selves, all while having fun! It is profoundly transformative to be surrounded by kids and adults who look like you, who might be struggling with the same things you are, who make you feel like you are powerful, you belong, you matter.
We build deep, lasting connections
Our camp isn’t just for kids, it’s for families as well - our overnight camps end with a Family Night, where parents are invited to share in a night of delicious food, community, and performances, and forge family friendships that outlive the camp. Camp Desi Roots is just the beginning - our dream is for our families to grow up together.
What makes us different from other camps?
Our camps are inclusive of all countries and religions of South Asia.
We very intentionally chose to create a space for youth who trace their roots to the South Asian subcontinent - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - regardless of their faith background. Our goal is to create an inclusive space that transcends the boundaries between the often divided countries and faiths in South Asia. We don’t purport to be “cultural experts,” neither is our goal to impart cultural knowledge specific to certain countries or religions - rather, our goal is to create spaces where South Asian youth can reflect on, and feel empowered by their cultural identities, their family histories, and the larger experiences of the South Asian diaspora.
Our camps are small and intimate by design.
We are not a traditional day or sleepaway camp that caters to hundreds of children. We have chosen small, intimate cohorts so as to create the conditions for vulnerable, courageous conversations where kids can truly be seen and heard. All our kids work on their stories of self both 1:1 and in small groups with their counselors, and hopefully, leave camp knowing that they have a family away from home to come back to every year.
Unlike most traditional sleepaway camps, we are not only activity-based - though we do offer a wide range of traditional camp activities for our kids, our camps are, at heart, substantive and educational, and we thoughtfully curate readings and design curricula that both inspire and challenge our kids’ thinking. Our goal is for our kids to leave our camp wanting to learn more about themselves and their desi roots.