MP Inderjit Singh presents certificates to community service participants
In a show of appreciation and recognition, YSA organised a certificate presentation ceremony for 43 young Sikhs and non-Sikhs who participated in two community service projects in India from 5 – 24 December 2004. They were part of Projects Khwaish III and Khwaish IV. Twenty three participants were based at the Government Senior Secondary School in Haryana while 20 participants were stationed at the Mata Gujri Sahara Trust School and Orphanage in Patiala.
The ceremony, held at the Grassroots Club, was attended by more than 70 people, including the families of the participants. Mr Inderjit Singh, Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC and Advisor, YSA, was the Guest of Honour for the event.
In his address, Mr Inderjit stated that the expeditions should not only be seen as what the participants built, refurbished or developed during their time in India, but also what they gained as individuals and as a group. While the expeditions provided an opportunity for the participants to contribute to community service, these projects also enabled them to enrich themselves from the experience of living in another country, society and culture. He urged the participants to continue on their path of community service. They should find time to partake in community service projects in and out of Singapore. A good platform for community involvement would be those relating to the redevelopment efforts for the tsunami-hit countries.
Actions speak louder than words. The participants proved this saying right by putting up an impressive multimedia presentation on their projects.
Following the video presentations, two representatives from each project team went on stage to provide a personal perspective of their experiences in India. Ms Gurvinder from Project Khwaish III stated: “The greatest lesson I learnt from this experience is appreciation. I learnt to appreciate the clean air and water in Singapore and that what we as Singaporeans have is really amazing for such a small country”. Her expedition mate, Mr Yong Jie An, stated that “the success of the project was due to the cooperation and enthusiasm of our members. Our proudest moment came when the school put up a performance in appreciation of our efforts and treated us to lunch on the last day.” Ms Surinder Kaur, a Project Khwaish IV participant, stated that, “one of the most poignant scenes for me was waiting outside the Amritsar airport, seeing our luggage being settled and turning behind to see our rickety yellow school bus pulling away from the airport with one of the local kids from Patiala at the door waving good bye. I know that scene will be transfixed in my mind for a long time to come.” The final speaker, Mohd Jamal, also from Project Khwaish IV, expressed the view that, “there were innumerable lessons to learn from those 20 days. Every event affected us differently, taught us different lessons and gave us different meanings. Each child showed us a different smile and each smile told a different story.”
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony. Undoubtedly, the parents and families of the participants were proud of what they did during their time in India. YSA looks forward to keeping this community service spirit alive among the young.
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