Speech by President Halimah Yacob at Sikh Welfare Council 25th Anniversary Appreciation Day

Mr Gurdip Singh Usma, Chairman, Sikh Welfare Council 25th Anniversary Appreciation Day Organising Committee

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon. I am delighted to be with all of you this afternoon to commemorate the Sikh Welfare Council’s 25th anniversary.

This is indeed a significant milestone for the Sikh community to celebrate with pride, and to appreciate the effort of those who have nurtured and guided the Council’s development and growth over the last 25 years.

I am pleased to see many of the pioneer leaders, staff, volunteers and community partners in-person here today. It is only through their concerted and sustained commitment that Social Service Agencies (SSA) are able to reach out and alleviate the plight of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Sikh Welfare Council was first established 25 years ago, to uplift vulnerable Sikh families and individuals facing socio-economic challenges. Self-help has been a core value of the Sikh faith. Setting up the Sikh Welfare Council demonstrated the commitment of the local Sikh community leadership to reaching out and serving the disadvantaged in the community.

Over the years, the Sikh Welfare Council provided psycho-social support in a structured, systematic, and sustained manner, while working closely with other Indian self-help groups. By harnessing their resources and expertise, these self-help groups implemented concrete initiatives to benefit specific segments of the Singaporean Indian community.

Take the setting up of the Ashram halfway house at Sembawang in 1999 for example. It is a safe sanctuary for offenders placed on a pre-release programme, designed to better prepare them for reintegration into the workforce and the community. Another example from the earlier years was the funding of ambulances for the Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital through donations from the Sikh community. This was highlighted in Sikh Welfare Council’s commemorative anniversary book titled ‘Sarbat da Bhalla – Service to Humanity’.

The Sikh Welfare Council’s development story has been underpinned by three themes – service, renewal, and inclusivity.

The first is the spirit of Sewa, or selfless service. This was illustrated by the generous contributions of early volunteers, successful businessmen and professionals who worked with pioneer generation Sikh leaders to address the challenges faced by disadvantaged families in the community. The pioneers worked tirelessly to establish the Sikh Welfare Council, with seed funding from the community to initiate operations. Management teams also worked with lean staff to sustain operations. This history encapsulates the spirit of self-reliance embedded in the community.

The second theme, renewal, was featured in Sikh Welfare Council’s decision to appoint a taskforce to conduct an objective self-evaluation into the Council’s achievements, and to propose the way forward. The study looked outwards to discern best practices of well-established SSAs run by other groups. One of the significant recommendations was to actively consider applying for an Institution of Public Character (IPC) status, departing from the prevailing self-help, self-reliance model.

The findings of that seminal study and the developments which catalysed over the following decade gave concrete expression to the Sikh value of living in ‘Chardi Kala’. I understand that this refers to striving towards excellence by rising above inertia and setbacks, as well as embracing fresh knowledge and insight to overcome complex challenges with renewed faith and enduring optimism.

The third theme of inclusivity is reflected in how Sikh Welfare Council has remained committed to serving the vulnerable and disadvantaged, regardless of race, language or religion. After attaining its IPC status, Sikh Welfare Council managed an extensive range of IPC-compliant programmes which catered to non-Sikhs as well. It is noteworthy that about 20 per cent of its beneficiaries today are non-Sikhs. It has also actively promoted racial and religious harmony, with initiatives such as the Sarbat da Bhalla round-island relay runs, which culminated in 2010 with the Singapore Racial and Religious Harmony Marathon Relay.

These three themes of service, renewal, and inclusivity underpinned the transformation of the Sikh Welfare Council from a self-help group to an institution dedicated to benefitting the wider Singapore community. I am glad that Sikh Welfare Council has joined the mental health and wellness movement by recently launching the Theek Thak (I’m OK!) campaign. It is important for each community to raise awareness of mental health challenges, reduce stigma towards mental health conditions, and promote positive help-seeking behaviours among those coping with the stresses of family life, work or school-related stress.

May the Sikh community and the Sikh Welfare Council continue to be guided by your creed and the aspiration towards fulfilling the Sarbat da Bhalla vision. It is through all our collective efforts that we can achieve this noble goal of service towards humanity. I wish the Sikh Welfare Council many more years of positive impact and success in your various programmes and initiatives. Thank you.