Deepa Fernandes

Deepa Fernandes is a radio journalist who has covered guerrilla insurgencies, natural disasters and political coups in countries from Haiti to East Timor. She now covers little kids, and their issues, for Southern California Public Radio where she is the Early Childhood Development Correspondent.

Deepa Fernandes is a journalist who has covered guerrilla insurgencies, natural disasters and political coups in countries from Haiti to East Timor. Most recently she was the Early Childhood Development Correspondent for KPCC.  Prior to Southern California Public Radio, Deepa was a national anchor for the Pacifica Radio network, she founded and ran a national non-profit that aimed to diversify the ranks of journalism by training new reporters in communities of color, and she was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford in 2012. She has an MA from Columbia University.

Khafre Jay, the executive director of Hip Hop for Change, based in Oakland, says he has experienced anti-black actions from Indian Americans when visiting his in-laws in Sunnyvale, a suburb of the Bay Area that is majority South Asian.

A Black radio host calls on South Asian Americans to reject racism

Khafre Jay taught himself Hindi so he could call out acts of racism by Indian Americans on his radio show. He touched on a subject many Indian Americans don't talk about: the prevalence of anti-Black attitudes in the South Asian community.

A Black radio host calls on South Asian Americans to reject racism
Hossanna Pacheco, bottom left; her mother Mireya Pacheco, top left; sister Mireyari Pacheco; and sister Nefthali Pacheco at their home in Los Angeles.

Virtual schooling poses extra challenges for English-language learners

Virtual schooling poses extra challenges for English-language learners
 A portrait of Norma Ramirez.

Trump ended DACA. This woman is suing to keep the program alive.

Trump ended DACA. This woman is suing to keep the program alive.
portable shower

USC students work with refugees to engineer solutions for better camp life

USC students work with refugees to engineer solutions for better camp life
Two young children are shown playing with a grocery cart with container homes shown in the background.

Mothers and babies lack basic needs in Greek refugee camps

Mothers and babies lack basic needs in Greek refugee camps
A grandmother wearing a blue shirt, stands to the left of her daughter wearing a red dress who is standing next to her son.

These asylum-seekers won their refugee cases in Greece. Some wish they hadn't.

On June 30, Greece will revoke cash cards, apartments and other support for asylum-seekers who have been granted refugee status, leaving some refugees desperate to find work and wondering how they'll manage.

These asylum-seekers won their refugee cases in Greece. Some wish they hadn't.
A woman riding a wave

An Olympic hopeful from Senegal hopes to inspire more black women to surf

Black female surfers say they often have to battle aggression and isolation while out in the water. One group from Northern California hopes to change that by helping more black female surfers compete professionally.

An Olympic hopeful from Senegal hopes to inspire more black women to surf
One woman wears an white protective suit and has a large plastic jug strapped to her back; another woman stands next to her as both inspect a branch of a bush.

Aboriginal rangers use traditional knowledge to protect their lands

A government program has created 800 full-time Indigenous rangers who patrol to make sure water sources are clean and restore resources damaged by intensive farming practices.

Aboriginal rangers use traditional knowledge to protect their lands
A group of Aboringinal women are shown sitting during a Sunday picnic in Telegraph Station in Alice Springs.

As more Aboriginal children are removed from families, critics say government risks a second Stolen Generation

The number of Aboriginal children removed from their families in Australia and placed in out-of-home care has doubled in the last 10 years. In the Northern Territory it is three times as high as a decade ago.

As more Aboriginal children are removed from families, critics say government risks a second Stolen Generation
The Uluru rock formation is seen off in the distance with the sun rising across the sky.

Australia returned Uluru to Aboriginals 34 years ago. They're only just now banning tourists from climbing the sacred site.

For decades, the Aboriginal community has politely asked tourists not to climb Uluru, one of their most sacred sites. Beginning in October 2019, the site will finally be closed to climbing.

Australia returned Uluru to Aboriginals 34 years ago. They're only just now banning tourists from climbing the sacred site.
un barco de pesca en el mar de cortez en Mexico

Con ‘zonas de refugio’, pescadores de Baja California restauran el ecosistema marino

Los habitantes del estado mexicano de Baja California Sur vivían de la pesca durante generaciones, hasta que los peces se acabaron.

Con ‘zonas de refugio’, pescadores de Baja California restauran el ecosistema marino
fishing nets in the sea of cortez

With no-fishing zones, Mexican fishermen restored the marine ecosystem

Small towns in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur lived on fishing for generations. When the fish ran out, they took a radical step.

With no-fishing zones, Mexican fishermen restored the marine ecosystem
Máxima Acuña-Atalaya de Chaupe

A US corporation wants to raze a gold-rich mountain in Peru. Meet the woman who stands in its way.

Máxima Acuña-Atalaya de Chaupe has waged a years-long battle against Newmont Mining to try and retain her farm — and stop a new open pit mine.

A US corporation wants to raze a gold-rich mountain in Peru. Meet the woman who stands in its way.
Farm workers repair irrigation pipes during spring planting

Undocumented workers fight for wages under the threat of deportation

Advocates say that these immigration enforcement threats keep workers from telling their stories of wage theft to law enforcement. Wage theft costs Los Angeles workers $26 million a week, according to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Undocumented workers fight for wages under the threat of deportation
Elvira Mauricia Diaz standing center with her family against a stone wall backdrop.

With kids’ health suffering, one Guatemalan town is trying to adapt to climate change.

When the weather changed and kids became malnourished, one Guatemalan indigenous community made big changes. And they seem to be working.

With kids’ health suffering, one Guatemalan town is trying to adapt to climate change.