Schaumburg's South Asian community growing active

If a grant program is meeting its goals, Schaumburg's Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi residents are more active in the community today than two years ago.

The village has won a third and final yearly grant aimed at better integrating its South Asian population into the wider community.

One drawback this year was that financial concerns forced the Chicago Community Trust to reduce all grants aimed at helping immigrant communities from $50,000 to $35,000.

While grants in other areas are intended to help new residents take their first steps in a different culture, Schaumburg's success in integrating an already established group is harder to measure, said Ngoan Le, vice president of programs for the Chicago Community Trust.

Research by the Schaumburg Business Association had revealed the local South Asian population wasn't proportionately represented in civic groups and leadership roles.

Though a 2005 U.S. Census survey showed South Asian residents made up 10 percent of Schaumburg's population, they were only 2 percent of the business group's members.

The past year marked greater visibility in a number of ways, including an informational booth and prizewinning parade float at Schaumburg's Septemberfest.

"It was sort of a public coming-out event for the South Asian community," Le said. "The fact that it was part of a community event was very important."

The first year of the grant included a survey of the South Asian community and creation of an advisory board with a majority of South Asian members. Last year, a survey of the general population's thoughts about the South Asian community was completed.

Only 11 percent of respondents said they had no contact with South Asians. But a general conclusion was more interaction was correlated with more positive feelings about the community.

Another conclusion of the survey was that many non-South Asians believed integration with the larger community is more difficult by the insular nature of South Asian cultures, language barriers and attitudes toward women.

The major goal of year three is for the advisory panel to keep up efforts and become self-sufficient so Schaumburg Business Association staff can withdraw from a direct role, SBA Vice President of Operations Sue Keener said.

Other goals for the year ahead include a meeting with the village's Committee on Aging for South Asian seniors and an informational meeting with the police department to help break down cultural fears of law enforcement among South Asian immigrants.