A weekend of hard work and solid communication, sprinkled with an appropriate amount of laughter, good food and numerous Starbucks runs. This was the SALDEF Retreat: West Coast meets East Coast. Parties involved? SALDEF Staff, Interns, Volunteers, and a few Board Members.
As a kickoff to the retreat, we attended a “mother of all dinners” to welcome everyone to DC. Nearly 30 young Sikhs came out and essentially took over our favorite eatery Nando’s. Four hours later it was time to call it a night. There was a long day ahead for SALDEF.
The retreat commenced on a Thursday morning with a workshop on SALDEF the organization, its roots and its vision. Since its foundation, SALDEF has been determined to preserve religious liberty and educate both the Sikh community 
about their rights and resources and the greater community about Sikh Americans. The next workshop was about communication and how to effectively convey a message whether it’s through a blog, a press release, or a brochure that’s being passed out. After these extensive discussions, it was time to work on the intern video so other young students and volunteers in the community will be able to have the same great experiences we have had this summer. After an exhausting 10 hour day at the office, we headed over to Bertucci’s for dinner with a group of other DC area Sikhs, and then to SALDEF volunteer Navdeep Singh’s rooftop for an amazing view of the Washington Monument and a glimpse of the White House.
After a 5 hour “nap” Friday morning woke us up and demanded our full attention. The first workshop of the day was conducted by Bhai Sahib from Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara. He started off with a story. A blind man asks the Guru “Is there anything worse than being blind – not being able to see anything?” The Guru replies “No, the worst is when you have sight but no vision.” It reminded us that as an organization, SALDEF must always keep its vision alive and present in the work being done. Another piece of advice from Bhai Sahib was reminded us that we are not responsible for the whole universe, we are responsible for where we are, where we walk. Instead of trying to take on the problems of the world, we will much better serve the community if we focus on what we know and can handle. The second workshop that day focused on what SALDEF can do presently to continue its vision.
Friday night found us quite exhausted so we regrouped the next morning at the Potomac River for kayaking. And believe me, coordinating paddles is no easy task. After an hour there and some delicious eggs benedict, we met up with more DC area Sikh youth to visit the Natural History Museum, hung out on the National Mall for a bit, headed to Vappiano’s for dinner, then visited the World War II, Korean War, and Lincoln Memorials at night. It was quite an ambitiously touristy day spent with great people.
The weekend overall was packed and hectic but we were able to get work done, meet friends, and make time to explore the city. As you can see from the pictures, it was the perfect combination of work and play. Coming to you from 1413 K Street, Jasleen Kaur Singh