Organization of Bhutanese Communities in America

The Organization of Bhutanese Communities in America (OBCA) is a national umbrella organization established in June 2010 to coordinate and represent Lhotshampa refugee communities across the United States. Registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 32-0521276) and headquartered in Snellville, Georgia, OBCA serves as a coordinating body among dozens of local and state-level Bhutanese community organizations, holding annual national conventions that bring together delegates from over 23 states.

OBCA's mission is to empower and support the Bhutanese community "to achieve the American Dream" while promoting arts, culture, and values and continuing the community's ethos to future generations. The organization aims to help the Bhutanese community integrate into mainstream American society "without losing Bhutanese culture, tradition, and values."

History and Founding

OBCA was founded in June 2010, approximately two years after the first Bhutanese refugees arrived in the United States through the UNHCR third-country resettlement program. The organization was created to address the need for a national-level body that could coordinate the rapidly growing but geographically dispersed Bhutanese American community. By 2010, Bhutanese refugees were being resettled across dozens of American cities, creating communities that were often too small and too isolated to advocate effectively on their own. OBCA provided a structure through which these communities could share resources, coordinate advocacy, and maintain cultural unity across geographic distance.

The organization received its IRS tax-exempt designation in May 2018. OBCA operates on a volunteer-driven basis, with annual gross receipts below $50,000, reflecting its role as a coordinating body rather than a direct service provider.^[1]

Leadership

OBCA is governed by an executive committee and nominates State and City Representatives to maintain a structured network of community leadership across the country. Known leaders include:

DB Rai — Chairman (as of 2016), who presided over the 6th National Convention and presented certificates of appreciation to community contributors
Manorath Khanal — Vice Chairman; also president of the Bhutanese Community Association of Akron. Khanal left Bhutan at age 16 during the ethnic cleansing and arrived in the U.S. from a refugee camp at age 33
Padam Bharati — Secretary
Aita Rai — Treasurer

National Conventions

OBCA holds annual national conventions that rotate across U.S. cities, serving as the primary gathering point for Bhutanese communities nationwide. Documented conventions include:

3rd Convention — Phoenix, Arizona (held simultaneously with the Association of Bhutanese in America convention in the same city, though the two organizations met separately)
4th Convention (2013) — Denver, Colorado (June 14–16). Focused on mental health of resettled Bhutanese, cultural identity challenges, and the Non-Resident Bhutanese (NRB) issue
5th Convention — Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
6th Convention (2016) — Cincinnati, Ohio (July 8–10). Theme: "Committed for integration of resettled Bhutanese Communities into common platform for the Empowerment and Advancement." Hosted by the Bhutanese Community of Cincinnati with participants from 23 U.S. states

Convention programming includes panel discussions on durable solutions for remaining refugees in Nepal, community economic empowerment presentations, multicultural performances featuring songs, dances, and drama, literary presentations, and updates from communities at the city and state level. Guest speakers at the 6th convention included Larry Yungh (Senior Resettlement Officer, UNHCR Washington), Jennifer Johnson (Ohio State Refugee Coordinator), Sandra Hollingsworth (Ohio State Refugee Health Coordinator), Dr. Hari Prasad Adhikari (Sampurnanand Sanskrit University), and Gopal Gartoula (senior journalist from Nepal).^[2]

Honoring Community Contributors

At the 6th National Convention, OBCA honored more than 80 artists, volunteers, and social workers who had demonstrated continuous effort to promote, preserve, and develop Bhutanese art, culture, literature, and community in America — one of the largest recognitions of Bhutanese American community contributors by a diaspora organization.^[3]

Relationship with the Association of Bhutanese in America

OBCA has had an ongoing but unresolved relationship with the Association of Bhutanese in America (ABA), the other major national-level Bhutanese organization in the U.S. Vice Chairman Khanal stated that OBCA "is always ready for unification if friends at ABA accept the principle and importance of one entity," but acknowledged that negotiations between the organizations had been inconclusive. At the 3rd convention in Phoenix, Arizona, both organizations held conventions simultaneously in the same city but failed to meet for discussions. There has been growing community demand for a single unified national organization representing all Bhutanese in America.^[4]

References

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. "Organization of Bhutanese Communities in America (EIN 32-0521276)." https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/320521276
Global PostInfo. "OBCA 6th National Convening." July 2016. http://globalpostinfo.us/en/2016/07/17/obca-6th-national-convening/
Global PostInfo. "OBCA 6th National Convening." July 2016. http://globalpostinfo.us/en/2016/07/17/obca-6th-national-convening/
Bhutan News Service. "OBCA Is Ready for Unification: Khanal." https://www.bhutannewsservice.org/obca-is-ready-for-unification-khanal/
OBCA. "Mission." https://obcausa.org/mission/