Many, if not most, Malayalee Americans can trace their immigrant journey to a nurse from Kerala who pioneered a path for the rest of us to the United States. This journey is intricately linked to the Vietnam War (1964 - 1973), during which 58,220 service members were killed. But incredibly, due to the advances in medical technology, battlefield medicine and advances in medical evacuation methods, many wounded in battles survived. The wounded service members, numbering about 303,644, were stabilized and evacuated back to the US for treatment. This large uptick in patients caused a severe shortage of nurses in the hospital system. Young Malayalee nurses answered the call and traveled by plane and ships from India, reaching the shores of the United States. These pioneers, in turn, brought their families and loved ones over and thus began the Malayalee American Dream.

“Kadha” is a bold and necessary attempt to document and memorialize our story and for the next generation to remember and appreciate the struggles. Behind this documentary is Producer Shainu Thomas and Director Raelyn Munneke.

Trailer:
https://www.ourkadha.com/trailer
Submit a story:
https://www.ourkadha.com/submit

This documentary is crowdsourced and grassroots funded. If you want to help with the project please donate or sponsor at:
https://www.ourkadha.com/donate

Release date for the documentary is expected to be in the Summer of 2026.