Singapore youths renovating Sangrur school
THE TEAM, PART OF AN INITIATIVE OF YOUNG SIKH ASSN, WILL SPEND THREE WEEKS AT VILLAGE
RATTOKE(SANGRUR): Nearly 20 Indian-origin youths from Singapore, who arrived in India on Saturday night, started renovation work on Government Primary School, Rattoke, on Sunday morning.
The boys and girls, aged between 18 and 21 and from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, were interacting with women, farmers and labourers of the village, one of the most backward areas of the state.
Interestingly, some of them who know a little Punjabi tried to communicate with the villagers.
Some of them with their roots in Tamil Nadu got help from their Punjabi-origin friends in translation to English. The young girls also tried hands in Punjabi cooking. “We want to understand Punjab, its culture and history. Though I visited Amritsar a few years ago as my grandparents belong to Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts, it is a new experience for me. Punjab people love us and they are cooperative. I have met students, women and farmers. I learned a lot in a single day,” said Rajveen Kaur (23).
They are part of the project ‘Khwahish’, an initiative of the Young Sikh Association (YSA), a non-profit organisation founded by Satwant Singh in Singapore. The team will spend three-week vacation in the village till December 26.
The NGO is going to spend around ₹10 lakh to renovate the school building in which they will build an office, a library and toilets.
“NRIS often come to Punjab with religious feelings and reach the Golden Temple but we have brought these youngsters to a village to introduce them to the real Punjab and its socio-economic conditions. I think when they return to Singapore, they will tell their parents about their experiences,” said Satwant Singh, 53.
People from across the district prefer enrolling their wards to Government Primary School Rattoke even if they have to wait for a year or two for this. The school, however, faces shortage of infrastructure.
“I watched a video about the school and its achievements. I liked it. We have purchased 3,000 books, including a collection on world fiction and history, for the library,” Satwant said.
The Rattoke village panchayat has made all the arrangements for its guests and are serving Punjabi dishes to them.