SHDF Chairman’s message at the time of widespread pandemic
Chairman’s message
As you know the pandemic situation in India has become dire with tragic consequences. It has hit hard all parts of the country. Punjab and neighboring areas, where the bulk of the Sikh Human Development Foundation scholarship recipients come from, has not been immune. Our warmest wishes and prayers for an early stabilization of this crisis.
In this Newsletter I wanted to share with you how SHDF has continued to fulfil its mandate to provide scholarships to the neediest and most vulnerable but bright students in the exceptionally challenging situation.
Even before the current pandemic wave, many families of potential scholarship recipients, already amongst the poorest, had lost whatever meager sources of income they had. Our normal means of communicating with the potential recipients were seriously compromised. We wish to express our sincere thanks to the very dedicated Sewadars of Nishkam Sikh Welfare Council (our sister organization in India) and a large number of volunteers all over Punjab who made sure that no candidate who had a dream of higher education and met the eligibility criteria was left behind.
As a result there was a significant increase in demand for SHDF scholarships, reaching record levels. (This also reflects the fact that tragically, a large number of our scholarship holders and proposed recipients have lost their loved ones to the Pandemic). In turn, we will be awarding a record number of over 1000 scholarships this year, compared to 888 last year and 688 in 2019.
We are deeply grateful to you for your invaluable support over the years. I sincerely hope that, at this very critical juncture when our resources have become stretched, you will be able to provide strong additional support. This will enable us to fulfill the increasing urgent demands.
Your Sewa, in the truest sense of the word, is keeping alive many young women and men’s dreams of higher education and helping transform their lives and those of their families during this most challenging of times.
May Guru ji’s blessings be with you. Your donation is invaluable at this extraordinary juncture. Please contribute online below, at www.shdf.org or mail your check in favor of SHDF to 10504 Rivers Bend Lane, Potomac, MD 20854. We are also counting on your spreading the word in your circle of friends.
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The Sikh Human Development Foundation is dedicated to catalyzing transformative change by offering scholarships to underserved yet ambitious students across Punjab and nearby regions. Through donor support, the Foundation has helped empower students to pursue advanced education and professional opportunities in diverse fields, awarding over 13,000 scholarships over the past two decades.