About

Headwaters/Delta Interfaith brings Faith and Spiritual leaders together to envision and realize community projects. This process brings people of different religious, racial, ethnic, national and economic backgrounds into communication, which fosters understanding and strengthens the community.The goal is not necessarily to talk about religion, but to help people meet as fellow humans with common concerns, hopes and dreams.

We believe that any community knows its own needs best, so we facilitate communication in order to bring people into conversation. In that spirit, we offer Social Media advice and management to other organizations, including Hindu American Seva Charities/Anju Bhargava, the Hindu representative on President Obama's Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

In New Orleans, our conversation with Faith and Spiritual leaders have led us to open a non-denominational Spiritual Space as part of the the New Orleans Healing Center's holistic revitalization project; our partner in this venture is Interfaith Works. The building is under renovation and will open in 2011.

Headwaters/Delta helps document religious diversity in the United States by acting as a Research Affiliate for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.We also support interfaith, development and social justice work around the world.

Headwaters/Delta is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 organization, but can currently accept donations as a project of its Fiscal Agent, KHEL Charities International.

Mission:
To foster local, national and international cooperation via intergroup dialogue and popular education; to provide for the spiritual needs of the New Orleans community by maintaining a non-denominational worship space open to the public; to support the revitalization of our world, based on holistic sustainability and social equity.

Objectives:

1. Foster individual and community spiritual expression and discovery.
2. To encourage communication among different groups via gatherings and Social Media.
3. To maintain an urban worship sanctuary, open to all.
4. Document faith and cultural diversity in The United States.
5. Provide education about faith and cultural groups in order to replace ingrained misunderstanding and social schisms with curiosity, cooperation and concord.
6. Bring faith and spiritual leaders together to work on common concerns.
7. To support local, national and international organizations through reciprocal relationships.

Who are we?
Saumya Arya Haas is the Executive Director of Headwaters/Delta Interfaith. Saumya has been involved with social equity and interfaith work from a young age. She writes and lectures about religion and is a contributor at The Huffington Post and State of Formation. Saumya is a Hindu Pujarin, Unitarian Reverend and Manbo Asogwe (Priestess of Vodou); she is also an ALB candidate in Religious Studies at Harvard University.

Headwaters/Delta Interfaith closely partners with the Interfaith Works team in New Orleans. Their unwavering support makes our work possible.

For more information, please join us on Facebook or contact saum@headwatersdelta.org