Amritsar, Dec 21 : A group of young Singaporeans recently visited Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to aid underprivileged and needy school children in the state.

The 20 young Singaporean students, were welcomed at the Government High School in Veela Bajju village.

Part of the Young Sikh Association’s community service project `Khawaish’, the Singaporean delegation was accompanied by members of the association.

“I think it’s a good exposure for our young Sikhs to come to Punjab and actually get to know their motherland, their roots for that matter and we also have this unique thing in Singapore where actually our Government encourages youngsters to go out of Singapore, go and look at the world, how does the world live, what is it that they have at the end of the day and they are still very happy for that matter and in Singapore you come down there, we are a first class country,” said Satwant Singh, Vice President, of the Young Sikh Association.

“We have everything, you flick a switch, you get light, you turn up tap, you get the water and yet at the end of the day, there are some people who feel that they need more, more should be done for them but I think we have achieved a level, we have success at every level and what we need to do is expose them to this kind of environment and to tell them that you should be grateful for what you have,” he added.

The volunteers, who are also students interacted with students in Punjab and shared their knowledge and experience.

The volunteers donated 2,500 books and refurbished a library for village students. They also donated computers, toys and souvenirs to children and teachers.

More than a community service, it was an opportunity for the Singaporeans to understand Punjab and its culture.

“Well I think, its very difficult from just donating money because when you come down, you can actually see, you know exactly what is being done and also you feel a sense of pride in being able to contribute something more than money because if you just give money, you don’t know exactly where it goes or what happens to it, so being able to come here and to interact with the people to do something very real and very significant for the school. I think its much more meaningful,” said Diyanah, volunteer and student of the National University, Singapore.

While, students from the schools which the delegation visited said that they were very happy to interact with the group.

“We feel very happy meeting with the team that has come from Singapore. We feel proud that they chose our school. We get great inspiration from them. They must have learnt a lot from our culture and even we are getting a chance to learn from their culture too,” said Navdeep Kaur, a student of Government High School.

The volunteers from Singapore include 16 Sikhs, two Hindus, two Muslims and Seven Chinese.

By living, playing, working and eating together with people in Punjab, the Singaporeans have learnt more about them and broken down cultural barriers. (ANI)