Our History
Supporting the Community with Care and Compassion Since 1995.
SIWEC has supported and uplifted countless individuals and families through its compassionate outreach and practical assistance. Committed to serving the community regardless of race or religion, SIWEC continues to be a trusted pillar of care and support.
Our History
Responding to real needs with real action
The idea for SIWEC took root as leaders recognised the urgent need for a central body to support individuals and families facing hardship in the community.
The 1990s saw an increased consciousness among the members of the Sikh community, regarding the rising number of social, economic and valued related problems within the community. The community’s preoccupation with the promotion of teaching and learning Punjabi language in particular, educational achievement of Sikh students in general and heritage related activities had however delayed the setting up of a formal mechanism or an organisation to address welfare related concerns. A great deal of preparatory work was needed in this respect before a national body could be set up.
In 1993, the Sikh Advisory Board (SAB), under the leadership of its Chairman, S. Bhajan Singh Suropadda, began working with other Sikh institutions to out a study of the welfare concerns of the community. The key concerns centered basically around the plight of a number of Sikh destitute families, the difficulties faced by Sikh children, youth and adults arising from the erosion of the family as a social unit and the absence of a professionally constituted, viable and effective mechanism to process, study and address the welfare needs of individuals and groups in the community.
Furthermore, whilst it was important for the proposed Sikh Welfare Council (SIWEC) to provide for the above needs, it was felt that SIWEC should not duplicate what was already available in other agencies in Singapore.
We therefore wanted to ensure that it optimised on all existing government and privately provided welfare facilities and acted as an avenue of last resort. It was also decided to learn from the experiences of other similar agencies and S. Bhajan Singh and S. Surjit Wasan, Secretary, Sikh Advisory Board held various meeting with government agencies and other welfare organisations to provide the volunteers with direct first hand experience and understanding of the working of welfare agencies and laid ground for future networking to the advantage of the community.
After all the studies and reviews above Sikh Welfare Council was officially launched by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Acting Minister for Environment and Senior Minister of State for Defence in October 1995 at a fund raising dinner attended by 1550 supporters and well-wishers.
The $1.7 million raised at the dinner showed the commitment of the community to this cause and put SIWEC on a sound financial footing and SIWEC started its operations from its office in Central Sikh Temple.
The major donors and founding Trustees of SIWEC honoured at the launch were S. Kartar Singh Thakral, S. Mohinder Singh Thakral, S Naranjan Singh Brahmpura, S Daljit Singh Gagarbhana, S Jagjit Singh Sekhon, S Jagjeet Singh Seghal, S. Mahn Singh Bajaj, S Gurcharan Singh Narula and S Kartar Singh Dalamnangal.
Status
A Registered Charity
An Institution of Public Character (IPC)
A Member of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS)
Mission
To improve the welfare and well-being of the community.
Objectives
Sikh Welfare Council carries out and manages welfare schemes in the form of financial assistance, healthcare awareness, academic assistance, assistance with housing and the provision of any other help (collectively referred to as welfare) for those requiring assistance within the Singapore Community.
The objectives are achieved through the careful formulation of welfare policies to ensure their relevancy and spearheading their implementation within the community. We also work with the Government and non-Governmental agencies on welfare-related matters.
