One of the three pillars of the Sikh faith is vand ke chakna; the act of sharing one’s fruit of labour with others. In sharing, a Sikh understands that everything he possesses has been provided by Waheguru, the alimighty God, and it is his duty as a Sikh of the guru to share what he has with others in community.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, from an early age, was deeply sympathetic to the plights of the needy. His father had once given him money and instructed him to enter into a good bargain, or khara sauda. The Guru left home in search for such a trade when he came across a group of saints who had not eaten for several days. Guru Ji chose to use the money on feasting the saints as to him, there was no bargain better than the act of giving to those who are in need. Later, the Guru institutionalised the langar- a common kitchen in all Gurudwaras that provides free vegetarian food to all, regardless of race, creed or caste.

At SIWEC, we once again had the blessed opportunity to further this very spirit of vand ke chakna last November 2015.

For two days on the 12th and 17th of November 2015, volunteer counsellors active in SIWEC’s prisons counselling services for inmates along with members of SIWEC’s management committee spent the morning of each day doing Naam Simran, Kirtan and Gurbani explanation followed by Ardaas for inmates. This was in order to commemorate Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Birthday Celebrations at the prisons as a congregation with inmates from our community and in line with SIWEC’s counselling, rehabilitation and befriending efforts for inmates which aim to successfully reintegrate them back into society. SIWEC was also able to secure approval for Langgar of Karah Parsad with Channa to be taken into the prisons that was prepared by the Yishun Gurdwara. SIWEC is especially thankful to the Prisons for allowing us to continue to effectively reach out to inmates who are members of our community. We are also grateful for our committed team of volunteers who make themselves readily available to cater to the needs of these inmates, and most importantly are there to remind them that they are not forgotten.

To further their counselling objectives which is primarily to provide counselling, rehabilitation and befriending inmates and to assist them to reintegrate back into society, SIWEC and its committed team of volunteers visits inmates to celebrate Vesakhi and Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday celebrations every year.

P for Purple, P for Pagh- 31 October was more than just Halloween last year, it was the day thousands of Singaporeans donned purple in an effort to speak up for persons with special needs. That’s right; it was Singapore’s Purple Parade 2015- a ‘movement that supports the inclusion, and celebrates the abilities, of people with special needs’!

Amongst the crowd last October though was something previous Purple Parades had not seen beforea sea of beautiful purple paghs (or turbans) of men from the first ever SG Sikhs@ Purple Parade contingent! A collaborative initiative between SIWEC, Singapore Punjabi Bikers, Young Sikh Association and Singapore Sikh Sewaks, the SG Sikhs@ Purple Parade contingent aimed to exemplify the Sikh community’s support towards persons with special needs within the Sikh community and in Singapore as a whole. The contingent even designed t-shirts specifically for the event!

About 30 Sikh ladies, gents (and baby) came together to form the Purple Parade’s first ever Sikh contingent. This cause struck a chord with SIWEC as we are an organization that works with clients from all walks of life, including persons with special needs. Our fast paced society tends to leave behind persons who are different and, as an organization that strives to serve the community, SIWEC aims to ensure no one falls within the cracks or gets left behind. While forming a contingent alone does not solve this problem, it is the first step the Sikh community, and SIWEC, has taken to show our support for the more vulnerable in our society. We look forward to seeing you as part of the SG Sikhs@ Purple Parade 2016 contingent! Stand with us in purple pride!

In an attempt to spread the festive cheer of Deepavali, a group of like-minded individuals have joined hands for the past three years consecutively for project LIGHTING HEARTS AND HOMES. Spearheaded entirely by individuals from different backgrounds, to include businessmen, students, professionals and entire families, and with no support from any organisation, each year the team of volunteers raises funds which are then used to deliver festive packs to needy families across Singapore. Each festive pack includes homemade festive goodies and basic essentials. For the project in November 2015, the combined value of all items in each festive pack exceeded $100. In total, more than 580 households received the festive packs. Through this project, the team hopes to engage as many individuals to reach out to those less privileged among us and remind them that they are not forgotten.

SIWEC supported the project by sending some of our volunteers to assist with the operations of project team such as logistics and delivering the festive packs. More importantly, some of SIWEC’s clients which include the elderly, disabled persons living alone, single parents and other deserving households were also beneficiaries of the project. This is an excellent example of an initiative that brings together people from all walks to contribute to the community by making a small difference in the life of a total stranger, and provides an opportunity to reflect and light many hearts.

SIWEC is grateful to all volunteers that made LIGHTING HEARTS AND HOMES 2015 an overwhelming success! If you would like to find out more information on the project and get involved later this year, you may visit the following website: http://lightingheartslightinghomes.weebly.com/

The Q2 SIWEC Insights newsletter is now available for viewing / downloading. 

IN THIS ISSUE.....

• History of Sikh Welfare Council (SIWEC)
• SIWEC signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Harmony on Wheels (HoW)
• Singapore Sikhs pay tribute to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew
• Sunehri Sahelian receives overwhelming response
• Leading healthy and happy years
• Update on some other programs
• Health Screening by National Kidney Foundation (NKF)
• Donation for the Nepal earthquake

The Singapore Sikh community has expressed gratitude to the late Lee Kuan Yew for "his emphasis on maintaining racial harmony, meritocracy and advocating minority rights".

Read full story: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/

The Q1 SIWEC Insights newsletter is now available for viewing / downloading. 

IN THIS ISSUE.....

• Community Outreach,
• Adoption of good governance practice
• News: Ride for Charity 2014
• Inspire: Malacca-Singapore
• Cycling to raise funds for SIWEC
• Our programs
• Collections: RFC 2014; 3 Days of determination through the lens of a teen aged 13!
• Inspire: Volunteering from theheart
• Events : A new milestone