Manik Chander
she/herHow to serve our communities by identifying their needs
Meet Manik, a proud child of Indian migrants who has made it her life’s mission to celebrate migration. She is a community builder, author, activist, and social entrepreneur. Together with her co-founder Melisa, she founded “My Migrant Mama,” which is the first-ever publisher run by migrant women with the goal of changing the migration narrative one story at a time. In addition to this, she also serves as the chairperson of the board of “korientation e.V.,” a network for Asian-German perspectives. Her dedication and hard work have not gone unnoticed, as she has been recognized with several awards, including the Kultur-und Kreativpilot:innen title by the German government, Deutscher Integrationspreis, Smart Hero Award, and the Niedersächsicher Integrationspreis.
Project
In 2019, I took the leap with my co-founder Melisa and self-published our very first book, “Mama Superstar,” which quickly became a bestseller. The book showcases the stories of eleven Migrant Mamas through the eyes of their German daughters and focuses on themes such as cultural diversity, migrant courage, and unconditional love. With over 30,000 copies sold and numerous positive feedback from readers, it became evident that “Mama Superstar” had filled a gap in the German book market. While our first book was a success, we recognized that a more scientific approach could help us make better decisions for future projects. This led me to apply for the Fellowship, where I could develop methods to identify the needs of our target audience. By implementing appropriate methodologies, we can use our limited resources efficiently while creating projects and products that resonate with our community. Ultimately, this approach allows us to better serve our target audience and communities.
