It is our great pleasure to announce that Lucky Dhillon from Amrit Vella Radio came to visit the Ramgarhia Panjabi School on 23 January 2010. She was warmly welcomed by the School Management Committee, staff and children.

Lucky Dhillon attended the school at the start and witnessed the activities of the School assembly. She immensely enjoyed the Simran, Shabad Kirtan and Ardas performed by the children and wholeheartedly praised their effort. She also spent some time in discussing the Sikh way of life with the children. After the assembly, she visited a number of classes and conversed with children. She also checked the children’s work and remarked favourably on the work undertaken and tidy handwriting.

The main purpose her visit was to encourage other young children from the RPS to participate on Sunday mornings in translating the Hukamnama from Sri Harmander Sahib, Amritsar. Currently, Hardev Kaur, for the School participates regularly in reading the English translation and her efforts are well regarded by the listeners.  Lucky Dhillon urged staff and parents to encourage other children to take an interest in appearing on the religious Radio show.

Luck Dhillon commented very positively on the RPS learning environment. She specifically mentioned discipline, uniform, resources and children’s motivation and commitment towards learning Panjabi. Staff were praised for their enthusiasm and dedication to the School.

The visit was very motivational for the staff and children. Luck Dhillon has made considerable progress in promoting Sikhism and is well regarded by the Sikh community in UK and abroad. Ramgarhia Panjabi School was privileged for her appearance and pray to God that she is blessed with good health and wisdom to fly the flag of Sikhism even higher.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

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Management Committee
Ramgarhia Panjabi School
231 Plashet Road, London, E13 OQU.
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Photos of Luck Dhillon’s visit to Ramgarhia Panjabi School

Students are keen to learn at Ramgarhia Panjabi School

Ramgarhia Panjabi School is located in a purpose-built building at 231 Plashet Road, in Forest Gate, East London, adjoining the Ramgarhia Community Centre on Neville Road. It’s a four-storey building with eight classrooms, an assembly hall, computer room, library, staff room and school office – all of which is impressive enough. But it’s what goes on inside the building that sticks in the memory.

This Saturday morning school has close to 160 students on roll learning the Panjabi language, religion and culture, divided among six classes, ranging from the age of six up to 16. The school has a large catchment area and a waiting list of younger children is maintained to reassure parents that their children will be admitted at the earliest opportunity.

The school is remarkable for offering a Panjabi language teaching syllabus up to GCSE level. In fact, last year it had 15 students sitting their GCSEs of which three achieved the A-starred distinction! The GSCE programme is supported by grant funding from the London Borough of Newham (Community Language Programme).

But the school always affords religion and culture equal status to the teaching of Panjabi.

Cultural studies are equally as important

Operated under the umbrella of the Ramgarhia Sikh Gurdwara, it has a long history and it has been organised on solid foundations with a constitution, policies and procedures all designed to conduct its business effectively. The school has a hierarchy and staff roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to ensure the safety and well being of the children.

There are seven trained teachers, with a clear remuneration policy, and staff commitment is second to none. The school also has a list of supply teachers to accommodate any leave of absence. The school management consists of president, treasurer and secretary and communications with the parents are through termly and event letters, children’s newsletter and open days. There is a real buzz about the place.

But 2010, with its 160 students, is I learned, by no means a pinnacle year. The school, which was founded in 1982, had a student roll of 460 in 1999.

Why have the numbers fallen? Is the religion failing to win and hold the devotion of Sikh children, I wondered?

But this was not the case. According to the school principals the decline has been so marked because so many Sikh families have moved away from the Borough of Newham as their circumstances improved.

That and the fact that Gurdwaras in neighbouring boroughs have also started to provide language tuition. For practical reasons, many parents feel that it is more convenient for their children to be taught Panjabi in classes local to their homes, notwithstanding the fine reputation of the Ramgarhia Panjabi School.

The fall in numbers has not influenced the imaginative way the school develops and administers its lessons. A teacher training session is held every year to support and develop innovative teaching and learning methods. There is also a specific budget for new teaching resources.

Mr Tarlok Singh Sura

Sikhs Online managing editor Manjinderpal Singh Matharu and I spoke to the School President Mr Tarlok Singh Sura and the Head Teacher Mrs Manjit Kaur Matharu about the school’s achievements and the importance of the Panjabi language within the Sikh community. And an open discussion with the students about why they attended the school was entertaining and enlightening.

The mission statement for RPS is to give language, religion and culture equal status. The staff believe that all three are vital for the development of proud young Sikhs. As such, the school curriculum is continually redesigned and evolved to encompass the three constituents.

When we asked some of the children to tell us how the classes were influencing their lives, they were clear and articulate in their identification of key attractions.

Bilingual skills help them to grow in religious awareness – understanding the significance of prayers, religious ceremonies, and sacred places – plus developing a greater appreciation of Sikh history, the Sikh way of life, and the symbolism of Kirtan. Many go to school in multi-ethnic Newham and they say that knowing about their Panjabi roots and gaining a deeper understanding of Sikhism helped them when speaking to children of other religions – and enabled them to understand and respect other religious beliefs. The school builds confidence so that the children can promote their religion and be proud to be Sikhs.

On the cultural side, the children learn to value deeper insights into Sikh traditions, celebrations, music, dance and poetry. They were very happy in their environment and said that attending the school had helped them make friends with whom they were able to relate.

The school itself “believes that having a good education helps prepare the children for an adult life that cherishes community and family values as well as giving them personal confidence, a sense of the their own potential as demonstrated by role models, and Sikh achievements around the world”.

RPS provides a conductive learning environment. There is a coherent curriculum for each class, with lesson plans advancing the syllabus. The school uses effective teaching strategies such as role play, discussions, and visual and audio and presentations.

Students’ progress is monitored via homework and end-of-term examinations and there is a code of conduct. All students wear a uniform and school starts with an assembly where they meditate and sing Shabads. All aspects of the assembly are conducted by the children, including Shabads and Ardas. Assembly is an important event used by the staff to exchange useful information about the religious and cultural events, local events and important national news affecting the Sikh community.

Parents Teachers Association

Parents Teachers Association

All Staff

Back row: Harbans Kaur Bhogal, Amarjit Kaur Lotta and Kartar Kaur Chagger - Front row: Gurnam Kaur Bhangal, Parminder Kaur Khera, Manjit Kaur Matharu and Kulvinder Kaur Sondh

The school has a Parents & Teachers Association (PTA), who are responsible for the upkeep of the library and computer room, as well as producing newsletters and arranging extra-curricular activities for the children.

Staff encourage their students to speak to them about concerns or problems – vital in addressing any religious issues such as bullying, where the children may not feel able to speak with their parents. The school staff have undergone recognised training related to child protection.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary two years ago (2007) the school staged a cultural extravaganza, where the children entertained with a variety programme organised at Newham Town Hall. Parents, religious leaders, community leaders and many local councillors attended, and the day was a great success.

RPS students are renowned for their accomplished performances over the years. They have performed at many religious functions, cultural events (India’s 50th Independence Anniversary) and special events (Diwali) and the evidence is readily available in the school photographic albums. The children are also well known for the annual ‘Sewa’ programme in which all they prepare, cook and serve all the food. The stage is handled by the students, including Simran, Kirtan and Ardas. The local Sangat regards the school’s ‘Sewa’ programme as one of the most satisfying activities in the calendar year.

We asked staff whether they felt that today’s UK parents are not so interested in teaching their children Panjabi, and what affect that would have on the Sikh community.

This was  the interesting response: RPS has many keen parents who support the school wholeheartedly. Other parents express an interest, but their commitment is low, as they find they are too busy with their own preoccupations. Some parents are only interested in their children attending Panjabi class and not in the quality of education, so any school serves their purpose. Parents who are unable to read and write Panjabi sometimes feel they are not well prepared to support and influence their children. RPS has offered to run the language classes for such adults many times in the past but the actual number has never reached double figures required to make it a cost-effective venture.

The school says that very few functions in UK Gurdwaras are specifically aimed at young people, as many Gurdwaras have not developed the resources or strategies to engage with them effectively.

The staff believe a lack of focus on the younger generation in the Gurdwaras also contributes to young people drifting away from religious life. The majority of the Gurdwaras’ religious functions and activities are aimed at elders and the committed congregation, they suggest. The management committees lack coherent organisation, drive, patience and fortitude to build and progress activities for the young to mould them towards the religion.  An occasional special programme is a form of a lip service; what the young people require is platforms for dialogue, opportunities to practise religious activities and a chance to engage in succession management.

Head Teacher: Manjit Kaur Matharu

For Ramgarhia Panjabi School, language skills are important and age is a critical factor in acquiring these. Staff say it is better to capture the children at a younger age as older children take much longer to settle down in the School. After a certain age children are more reserved or embarrassed. Older children can find it more difficult to learn because of these inhibitions but without the deeper understanding that the homeland language brings they can be temperamental about later involvement in religious activities. They can also be more easily disheartened by pressure from their peers outside Sikhism.

RPS will be pleased to talk to parents or Gurdwara leaders about ways in which Sikhism can be taught to make it more relevant and enjoyable for young minds. RPS can provide help with teaching aids and resources to other schools.

It believes imaginative early teaching is imperative to ensure the health of congregations and the future well-being of the religion and culture. It says skilful teaching of the Sikh religion and culture, let alone the Panjabi language, does not feature well in most Gurdwaras. It is essential to focus attention on these key issues to mould our young at the earliest opportunities.

I found myself sympathising with this view of lack-lustre teaching. As a young person I was taught, like fellow students, by a priest at the Gurdwara. But we did not follow lesson plans, were simply issued with religious books to read and left very much to our own devices.  Skilful teaching of the Sikh religion and culture, let alone the Panjabi language, did not come into the picture. From what I hear, temples in London rarely distinguish themselves in this respect to this day.

RPS is very keen to invite young children to the school and the recruitment process is ongoing. If you would like your child/children to receive the best possible Panjabi language education then contact RPS for further information. The school is also interested in parents who want to learn computer skills.

The school contact details are as follows:
School President: Tarlok Singh Sura 020 8554 7953  (evenings)
Head Teacher: Manjit Kaur Matharu 020 8590 5419  (evenings)

Ramgarhia Panjabi School, 231 Plashet Road, London, E13 OQU
Telephone 020 8552 2490 (Saturdays)

Ramgarhia Sikh Gurdwara, 10-16 Neville Road, London, E7 9QX
Telephone: 020 8552 9494  (evenings)

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Lucky Dhillon visits Ramgarhia Panjabi School
Read the story and see pictures here

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Now Khalsa Aid wants a final surge in signatures to give maximum impact to its call for UK intervention.

The petition has been mounted on the UK Prime Minister’s petitions site, supported by the following statement:

“Since 1947 the Sikhs living in the Punjab in north India have been struggling for basic human rights. There is a lack of economic growth, 80% of the youth in Punjab are drugs dependent, the education system is failing, Amritsar has become the HIV capital of the world, in addition there is an alarming rate of farmer suicides in Punjab – yet the Indian government has failed to take any action to tackle these issues or educate the population living in Punjab.”

Khalsa Aid accuses government in India of wide-scale neglect of the Sikhs in Punjab, resulting in a failure of the infrastructure that is needed to promote the welfare of a population.

Further, it says Sikhs have been robbed of their right to peaceful protest and it cites a recent protest in Ludhiana where Sikhs demonstrating against an individual inciting religious hatred were indiscriminately shot at, “with a number of protesters being shot or trampled to death by police brutality”.

The petition was submitted by Khalsa Aid’s newsletter editor Bal Sandhu, who says signatures can still be added by the deadline of February 16. You can access the Khalsa Aid petition page at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/PanjabSikhs/

The petition is part of a campaign entitled Focus Punjab.

Khalsa Aid founder and chairman Ravinder Singh writes in the newsletter: ” Every trip I have made back to my village in Punjab has ended in sadness due to the rising levels of poverty, drugs abuse, economic downturn and hopelessness amongst the people.

“We, the Sikhs in the west, must not give up on the fellow Sikhs in rural Punjab; these are the same people who stood shoulder to shoulder with our forefathers. After consultation with some of our supporters it was decided to launch a dedicated program to assist the people in rural Punjab, hence the launch of Focus Punjab (FP).

“We have already initiated sponsoring children in the Goindwal area since January 2009. The children also need a stable home for a healthy and happy lifestyle , so we will also be providing aid to the very poor families to reduce the financial burden. We have a long way to go to tackle the menace of drugs and the rising rates of HIV, there is so much to do, but with Gurus grace we can try to
make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged.”

Khalsa Aid, a non-profit organisation, is inviting Sikhs who visit relatives in the Punjab to give up a day to go and see the work of the charity for themselves – to “meet the children we are sponsoring”.

Those interested can contact the charity at khalsaaid@khalsaaid.org

People who would like to work for the campaign can put themselves forward at volunteers@khalsaaid.org

For information about Khalsa Aid’s other work, including its efforts to bring clean water supplies to parts of earthquake stricken Haiti, visit http://khalsaaid.org You can also keep in touch by joining Khalsa Aid on Facebook.

Once established they built up resources to the point where they can now distribute 5,000 langgar (community) hot meals day, following a request from the mayor of Carrefour, Yvonne Gerome.

United Sikhs Aid volunteers served in three locations in Carrefour, one of the worst hit areas. Fifteen hundred meals alone were served in Cite Soleil, the poorest section of Port-au-Prince, where 1,000 children were reported in dire need of food and water. City police helped volunteers with the distribution.

“It was heartbreaking to see so many hungry children in line for the food,” said Harcharan Singh, a volunteer from Toronto

Now they have a foothold in Port-au-Prince United Sikhs have been appealing for other volunteers, including doctors, to join them in their humanitarian rescue efforts.

The charity’s humanitarian director, retired Lt Col Gurbachan Singh, and colleagues flew into Santo Domingo airport in the Dominican Republic and drove into Haiti across the Jamini border.

The aid team’s first assessment of the situation showed immediate need for medical supplies, food, water, and shelter for survivors. Like other rescue workers, the team had to overcome serious obstacles and logistics challenges due to a lack of infrastructure.

The charity encountered countless survivors with serious injuries, especially crushed limbs needing emergency medical treatment.

Every building on the roadside was severely damaged with falling concrete roofs crushing people, household goods, and vehicles. There were dead bodies lying on the ground, said Lt Col Gurbachan Singh.

A United Sikhs’ shipment of food, water, clothes and medicines was due to arrive in Haiti this week from Miami, by sea and by air.
More doctors are joining the Sikh Aid team from the US to establish a team comprising rehab doctor, primary care doctors and an occupational therapist. Further trained medical staff and other volunteers are still needed.

Kuldip Singh, president of United Sikhs, USA, said Haiti was in desperate need and called for generous support from the worldwide community to help sustain the organisation’s commitment to survivors.

The volunteers have witnessed mass burials and search and rescue operations, although these have now been wound down.

United Sikhs says donations of any amount could help save lives. You can donate at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate or mail a cheque to the nearest United Sikhs office.

To contact United Sikhs, please visit: www.unitedsikhs.org/contact.php

The Karma Nirvana Honour Network Helpline currently responds to crisis calls from 9.30am to 9pm seven days a week, but without Government help it will cut its evening and weekend services in 2010 for lack of funding.

Karma Nirvana charity founder Jasvinder Sanghera broke the news to the head of the government’s Forced Marriages Unit Alan Shaw when he visited its Derby headquarters this week.

The charity had previously said it would have to end the service altogether at the end of December but has decided instead to try to eke out the donations from the public for another six months.

Karma Nirvana has been campaigning hard for over a year for Government help but so far its pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

So it has been asking for the public’s support with an online appeal to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It called for signatures on a petition it launched on the Downing Street E-petition website and since the end of October has gathered more than 1,600 names.

The helpline was set up in April 2008 and has received more than 7,000 calls. The charity says it is a life saver.

It cites the shocking statistic that 33 per cent of all victims who call are below the age of 22 and 11 per cent are under the age of 16.

Jasvinder Sanghera, who is the charity director, and author of the books Shame and Daughters of Shame, which recount ordeals that she and other women have experienced, says that for the past six months the helpline has been totally funded by public donations.

This week Karma Nirvana took the unusual step of writing to police authorities for support – “the police forces we get the most calls from in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derby, East Midlands and Birmingham,” said Ms Sanghera.

It has also contacted MPs and the Prime Minister’s Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.

The Home Affairs Select Committee findings into Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence urged the Government last year to ensure the network was properly resourced but there has been no indication that national support will be provided.

Jasvinder Sanghera said: “I am angry that we are having to fight for a helpline that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the UK and that we are in this situation a year after the resource problem was pointed out to the Government.

“We are based in Derby but we are regarded as a national project. Ninety-five per cent of our calls are UK referrals, including those from the Forced Marriage Unit in the London area!

“We get referrals from the National Domestic Violence helpline, from Victim Support and from Crimestoppers, all of which have support from the public purse – and the fact that we get nothing doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Ms Sanghera said: “When we started we could not have anticipated the number of calls we would receive. The success of the line serves to highlight the tragic plight of some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.”

Peak calling periods are closely linked to school holidays when young people fear they may be flown to India and forced into marriage there. UK education authorities have been told to be alert for unexpected absences of young girls who might be forced into such situations against their will.

Karma Nirvana, which supports men as well as women and girls, says the Government has acknowledged that it has been dealing with the “tip of the iceberg” with regard to forced marriage cases.

The charity says it gives victims who call the chance to speak to a survivor and for many it becomes a lifeline that reduces isolation and risk and brings hope where there was previously despair.

“Other agencies ring us for guidance and direction in an area where we know many lack confidence – and it is vital that every agency gives the right response to the first call, because not to do so can be critical to the victim,” said Jasvinder Sanghera.

The Government has recognised that agencies should be governed by the One Chance Rule – meaning, get the response right first time.

Signatories to the Karma Nirvana petition are urging the Prime Minister to act to help British-born subjects experiencing forced marriage and honour based abuse, many of them desperate young people.

Karma Nirvana’s helpline operates seven days but even now it is sometimes understaffed. “Ideally we would like a couple of people staffing the phones all the time but this is not the case at the moment,” said one of the office team.

Karma Nirvana can be contacted on 0800 5999 247 or by email on kninfo@btconnect.com

The website is at: www.karmanirvana.org.uk

The E-petition web address is http://petitions.number10.gov.uk

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Members of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, in Surrey, British Columbia – the second largest Sikh temple in North America – voted by13,458 votes to 7,257 to install a new management team, which had campaigned as the Youth Slate.

They beat a collection of long-established ‘moderate’ community leaders who they criticised for tolerating changes such as allowing members to sit on chairs instead of the ground during temple meals.

The Youth Slate are thought by some to be out of step with the attitudes of many other second and third generation adults in Canada’s 300,000 strong Sikh community, but it was a resounding victory that probably did not surprise the previous management.

Curiously, the Youth Slate’s traditionalist outlook in certain areas of temple life does not make them easy to categorise as fundamentalist devotees.

They utilised internet chat rooms, and social networks Facebook and Twitter to reach out for support rather in the way that recent political campaigns have done in North America. And they have put forward progressive proposals to create community services for the elderly and for women victims of domestic abuse (see http://newfuture.ca/agenda/women), as well as pledging to introduce English into temple activities in a bid to attract disaffected young people who do not speak Punjabi.

The Youth Slate team, in their 30s, are reckoned to be 20 years younger on average than the moderates they ousted, but their promise to combat drug dealers and other criminal gangs in British Columbia clearly won over a great many of the older generation. Their methods, achievements or failures will be closely watched by other temple communities in Canada.

Conservative Sikhs nearly took over Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara last year, defeating the moderates by nearly 6,000 votes, but the province’s supreme court declared the results void because nomination forms were not correctly filled out.

Tensions between traditionalists and moderates caught the attention of the nation in 1997 when fighting broke out over whether members should be allowed to use chairs or made to sit on the ground for temple meals. Riot police, who were amazed to discover the cause of the violence, were summoned to restore order and police were also present as a precaution at the latest election.

The poll marked the end of 11 years as president for Balwant Singh Gill. He stepped down in October.

The study focuses on six religious groups – Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism.

The researchers at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University say:

“We are interested in hearing from young people aged between 18 and 25, regardless of gender, sexual orientation (e.g. straight or gay), relationship status (e.g. single or partnered), or sexual practice (e.g. celibate or sexually active). Participants will be asked to fill in a questionnaire on our website.
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We would like to know what you as a religious young person think about issues relevant to you in everyday life – for example, what it is like to live as a religious young person in Britain today, what sorts of religious activities you are involved in. How involved are you with your religious community?
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Does your religious faith impact on your friendship networks? Who are your role models? What influences you most – contemporary media or religious leaders?
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We are also interested to know about young people’s attitudes to contemporary issues such as sex before marriage, and contraception. Is contemporary society too sexually liberal? Or do religions need to accommodate liberal lifestyles?
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Whatever your views, we want to hear from you! So long as you identify with one or more of the religions mentioned above, live in the UK and are aged between 18 and 25, you are eligible to take part. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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So far, over 200 young people of different faiths have completed the questionnaire. Their voices and opinions have been invaluable and we are most excited by the diversity and similarity in their experiences and beliefs. We really hope you will add to this voice!”

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So visit us now at www.nottingham.ac.uk/sociology/rys where you can complete the questionnaire and find out more about the project and the people involved.

The Religion, Youth and Sexuality’ (RYS) Research Team
Dr. Andrew Yip, Dr. Michael Keenan, and Sarah-Jane Page

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At the time of writing sponsors and collections taken at the start, finish and along the route from Birmingham to London had contributed more than £18,000 – enough to pay a year’s salary for a day play-and-care worker at the Richard House Children’s Hospice in Beckton, East London.

“It is a wonderful effort which we hope will spark greater support among the minority communities living around the hospice in East London and Essex,” said community fundraiser Manjeet Boparai.

She added: “This year we have noticed that pledges of support from the corporate sector, including top companies at Canary Wharf, are not materialising as we had hoped and we will be looking to the communities around the hospice to do their best to help us make up the shortfall.”

The hospice, founded in 2000 and run by 70 full and part-time staff, needs £1.8 million a year to fulfill its mission to provide care and support for children with life limiting and complex healthcare needs between the ages of nought and 19.  It is a colossal fundraising endeavour.

Manjeet Boparai said: “At the moment we have 150 children on our books who will be using Richard House at some time during the year.”

The hospice facilities include eight bedrooms, a one-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom flat for family use, and a day care centre that can accept eight to ten children at a time.

SACA’s 140-mile bike ride was staged over the weekend of July 25-26 and was tackled by exactly 140 riders with a support team of 15 also covering the course. The cyclists included 20 women, a 55 year old, three under-18s accompanied by guardian marshals, and one tandem rider, aged nine, cycling behind a parent.

With funds from this year’s effort, SACA’s annual charity ride will have raised more than £200,000 in 20 years, for a number of different charities.

Each ride is a feat of organisation and minute-by-minute health and safety scrutiny to ensure there are no accidents to mar proceedings.

The 2009 ride started on Saturday July 25th at 9am after a cautionary film on proper health and safety behaviour on the roads and ended at around 6pm in Luton, where well over 100 riders and back-up staff slept overnight in the gurdwara.

Because the Luton temple could not accommodate everybody 30 people peeled off from the main pack ten miles earlier to sleep at the Bedford gurdwara and a small number of participants stayed with friends or relatives in the Luton area.

Back-up this year featured a dedicated St John Ambulance crew, cycle and motorcycle marshals, mobile refreshment vans, cycle mechanics and command and transport vehicles.

The ride concluded in Southall, west London, after a parade along The Broadway from Hayes – where the public were invited to fill collection buckets – to Southall Park where entertainment and a picnic were provided.

East London representative of SACA, Arvinder Singh, said: “Our website www.charitybikeride.com proposes that we are all one and that was the spirit of a wonderful event. There were people from all parts of life involved, Sikhs, Christians, Hindus – no bar at all. We had Chinese people and people from the black community and even a Korean mechanic! There were people from all denominations working together.”

Richard House Hospice came into existence through the determination of a remarkable woman, Anthea Hare, who as a teenager in the West Midlands saw her brother Richard, a young adult, die from profound and multiple disabilities. He was treated by a West Midlands hospital and she and her parents discovered there was no hospice available for youngsters in his situation.

Anthea became a sick children’s nurse and when she moved to East London she carried with her the dream of creating a children’s hospice that combined the different kinds of care offered by hospital and home.

Many years later she decided to turn her vision into reality and cashed in a pension to pay for research into the need for a children’s hospice in the locality.

She began to promote the idea with colleagues around 1985 and in the next few years a charity was registered and an appeal for capital funding started. The land was acquired in 1997 and the main building work completed in 2001. A home care service was launched in 2000, followed by a day care centre and then in December 2002 the residential facilities.

Anthea Hare is now the hospice life president.

There will always be a need for hundreds of thousands of pounds of community fundraising support at Richard House. A day care session costs around £462 to fund, for example.

Manjeet Boparai believes that not all the ethnic communities living and working in the areas served by the hospice are fully aware of the service it provides for children, without regard to their background.

“Many people come to help, either with our fundraising or by having events of their own – like the Sikh Arts & Cultural Association – but we still have a job to do in telling the communities about our work and in encouraging them to help us out a little bit more,” she said.

To find out more about the work of the Richard House hospice and how you might help visit the charity’s website at www.richardhouse.org.uk

For more on SACA’s Birmingham to London bike ride, with pictures and a list of sponsors, visit www.charitybikeride.com

Slough Borough Council in Berkshire has appointed a Sikh mayor and a Sikh deputy mayor – and there’s also a Sikh in the mayor’s chair at neighbouring south of England authority, Newbury Town Council.

Councillor Joginder Singh Bal (on the right in our main picture) is the fifth Sikh mayor of Slough, with Councillor Jagjit Singh Grewal (left) as his number two.

At Newbury Councillor Kuldip Singh Kang has been sworn in as the town’s first ethnic minority mayor.

Formerly deputy mayor, Joginder Singh Bal has served on Slough council since 2001. After being sworn in, the taxi driver and father of four said he “got into politics to serve people” and would promote Slough wherever he went.

Kuldip Singh Kang has lived in Newbury for around 20 years, running a store and post office in the town. Elected to the council two years ago, he has three children and four grandchildren, all of whom were at the mayor-making ceremony, along with his wife of 29 years, his parents and his sister and two brothers.

A practicing Sikh, he will nonetheless maintain the mayoral tradition of having a church chaplain and the swearing-in ceremony was followed by a civic service in St Nicholas Church.

The mayor’s charitable objectives in the year ahead will include helping another local church, St George’s, in its attempt to become carbon neutral.

Mann: The next two ‘invite’ paragraphs highlighted by bold/itals/colour, whatever you consider best.

Sikhs Online would be interested in profiling any other Sikh mayors in the UK, or Sikhs in other prominent political positions on local and regional authorities.  Send us a brief biography and picture and we will publish it in our Community section.

Our email address is news@sikhsonline.co.uk

Early in February the media reported Nashater Hayer’s distress when she was told by Emirates’ staff in Brisbane that the urn contaning her husband’s remains could not be included as carry-on luggage but instead would have to travel in the aircraft hold.

She and her daughter Debbie had booked to fly to the Punjab to spread Kewal Singh Hayer’s ashes on the Kiratpur River. He died in October 2008.

Debbie said her mother was distraught at the airline’s response.

Sikh tradition says a dead person’s remains must be transported respectfully without touching the ground on its way to being cast into a flowing body of water.

Emirates Airlines’ refusal was guided by company policy which said that transporting human remains would be a security issue because of the “unsuitability of these items for security inspection prior to boarding”.

But a few days later it announced an amendment to the rule. It stated: “Following a recent review of the policy, cremated human remains (ashes) may now be accepted for carriage in the passenger cabin, provided all such requests comply with international security regulations including and not limited to possession of necessary documentation.”

Sikh Council of Australia president Ajmer Singh Gill had pointed out that other airlines usually did not have a security problem with Sikhs transporting family remains. “Most airlines are very accommodating,” he said.

But the picture remains clouded.

Jitender Bhargava, Air India’s executive director, corporate communications, Mumbai, told Sikhs Online that his airline had a rule similar to Emirates’ original stance.

It “prohibited carriage of any powdered substance as carry-on baggage, due to security regulations. The final decision rests with the security agency and local laws supercede all other regulations even if an airline was to permit it keeping in mind religious sentiments and traditions.”

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