iagb spotlight

Valsamma Vargise is a mother, a grandmother, a scientist, a student of religion, a community organizer – but at the heart of it all, she is a passionate gardener. She has the innate understanding of a true gardener that nourishing the roots helps life blossom. And that shows through the life she has cultivated for herself and her community.

Valsamma arrived in the USA from Thiruvalla in Kerala as a Master’s student and she has made New England her home since the mid-1970’s. Along with raising their own kids, she and her husband Joseph were also deeply involved in building a community, i.e. Kerala Association of New England. They both served the organization in various roles and she led it as the President in 1993-94. KANE was established in 1970 and in those early years there were 50-60 Malayali families involved in the organization. “Being so young and so far from home we embraced our friends from KANE as our surrogate family. With love and care from this family we established a new life here, all the while staying connected to our culture and heritage,” says Valsamma. Commitment to KANE was a family affair as her kids and now grandkids too have got family through the organization. As she affectionately recounts all the times and ways her life has been enriched by the KANE family, the symbiosis between patrons and the organization becomes evident.