A GROUP of 23 Singaporeans is not letting the recent terrorist attacks in India keep it from its community outreach project.
The group left Singapore on Wednesday with plans to set up a library for a village school in Korewala, Moga, as part of the Young Sikh Association (Singapore) community service project, Project Khwaish VIII.
The group took with it 1,500 books weighing 680kg and a laptop complete with a library computer system created by one of the team members.
Teachers and key student leaders will be trained to manage the library, and identification cards will be issued for each student.
The group's members will also be conducting training sessions in basic hygiene, First Aid and balloon sculpting during their stay till Dec 21.
Previous teams under Project Khwaish also set up libraries in different villages in Punjab.
'We realised that a library was a novel concept for most villages, and that there was a lack of non- academic English books available for children,' said team facilitator Sheetal Kaur, 30, a private tutor.
'That became our focus, to bring in English books and create an environment to encourage reading.'
So well-known is their yearly expedition that donors call and ask when they are starting their book collections. Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), First Toa Payoh Secondary School and Loyang Secondary School also donated books from their libraries.
The weeks leading up to the expedition were spent checking, cataloguing and packing the books.
The attacks in Mumbai caused some concern, but the team decided to go ahead with the project, with the support of the members' parents.
'We were worried at first, but the association assured us they had checked that it was safe. Also they are going to the northern part of India and to village areas far from major cities,' Mr Ratan Singh, 52, a sales executive said.
Although the team's spirit has not been dampened, it has not forgotten to take some precautions either.
'We have informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and rechecked our insurance,' said team leader Manmohan Singh, 48, an administrative manager.
'We have done what we can to ensure safety and look forward to making a difference in Punjab.'
SEOW KAI LUN
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