A Santa from Canada’s Surrey for state’s govt primary schools
THE JALANDHARBORN BIZMAN IS IN TALKS WITH OFFICIALS TO PROVIDE ROS, COOLERS, AUDIOVISUAL AIDS, FURNITURE TO 12,000 SCHOOLS IN 3 YEARS
CHANDIGARH: Spreading smiles among the underprivileged is a passion for Sukhi Bath, a well-heeled businessman from Surrey in Canada’s British Columbia province.
Soon, children studying in Punjab’s government primary schools will also get a taste of Bath’s generosity, for he is in talks with the state education department officials to provide reverse osmosis (RO) systems, coolers, audio-visual aids and furniture to each of the 12,000 schools in the next three years.
“Punjab education secretary Krishna Kumar has promised to give me a list of things the schools need,” says Bath, his tawny eyes all aglow.
The project, which will get rolling in February next year, has been on his mind ever since he came across a ramshackle school at Mansa Khurd village a few years ago. “All that the school had was a board and the students didn’t even have a mat to sit on,” he says.
Shocked, Bath adopted the school along with a couple of others.
“Every child deserves clean water and air besides the right tools for education. My foundation will provide all of this,” he adds. To this end, Bath is setting up an office at Jalandhar, which will not only arm the schools with all amenities but will also ensure their maintenance over the years. This is why he is partnering with environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal to green these schools.
To many, this may seem like a tall order. But for selfmade Bath, who swears by the power of hard work, integrity, and faith, it’s just another challenge. Brother of eight sisters in an impoverished household, life at Patara village near Jalandhar was a struggle. He was 20 when he migrated to Canada in 1978. At 23, he was the only non-white employee in an auto agency where he went on to become the general manager.
In 1991, he quit job to set up his own auto dealership. Today he runs five businesses with 300 employees. Along the way, he started social work by setting up the Bath Foundation in 1996. “I was inspired by my mother Surjit Kaur. I started very small, but I realised the more I gave, the more profits I earned.”
His list of good deeds includes 90,000 free eye surgeries and marriage of 386 girls. His recent favourite is Punjab Bhawan at Surrey, the first outside India. Inaugurated in October 2016, it’s a popular hub for socio-cultural activities by various communities. The building, which hosts at least 25 events and 4,000 people every month, doesn’t charge a penny for its facilities, which include refreshments.
With his children Kirtvir and Harjivan handling his affairs in Canada, Bath is now pursuing his dream of reviving the large-hearted Punjab of yore. He is taking a step in this direction by tying up with universities to mobilise students. As he puts it, “Education can bring about a change.”