Chicago IL – On Thursday, January 16th, the SALDEF team gathered with employees of Heartland Alliance and the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI) in the basement of the Unaccompanied Children’s Shelter to train the staff and volunteers on fundamental beliefs of Sikhism and certain characteristics unique to Punjabi culture. The training was followed by kirtan in the afternoon for the children and staff.
“The Punjabi boys and other children enjoyed listening to kirtan, eating kara parshad and other snacks with tea,” said ICDI Volunteer Mr. Kuldip Singh. “It is always a pleasure to see the children smiling on such occasions.”
Long-time ICDI volunteer Kuldip Singh has been helping to provide the children with a connection to their Sikh/Punjabi home life and also religious resources to all the Heartland Alliance shelters. Mr. Singh had recently contacted SALDEF to help gather turbans and Gutkha to hand out to the boys. After learning more the SALDEF team thought it would be in the best interest of the kids to teach Heartland Alliance staff and ICDI volunteers on Sikhism and Punjabi culture. According to Heartland Alliance, 40% of the children in the facility are from India and the majority are Sikh from Punjab. Currently, the shelter houses approximately 40 young Sikh boys but its occupancy has reached well over 100 at certain times.
“This will make a big impact for the children,” said Maria Kenney Community Engagement Coordinator for Heartland Alliance. Kenney also said, “It was wonderful to have you here, and the feedback from the training has been overwhelmingly positive. The staff are hungry for these kinds of professional development opportunities and they got a lot out of having you here.”
We want to thank Bhai Mohinder Singh and Tejinderpaul Singh from Wheaton Gurdwara for conducting the kirtan and bringing kara parshad. We also want to thank Mr. Kuldip Singh for bringing this to our attention, helping organize the training, and his important work with these young boys.
SALDEF’s main focus for these children is to ensure their safety, and that respect for their culture and religion is provided. We will continue to monitor the shelters, train employees and volunteers, and provide religious materials. If you are in the Chicago area and would like to volunteer at the Unaccompanied Children’s Shelter please email info@saldef.org.