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TWENTY-NINE young Singaporeans left for Punjab, India on Friday with boxes of books filling their luggage. Collected over a six-month period, the 1,400 books will be used to set up the first-ever library at Bhaloor High School located in Punjab's Moga district.
The 17-day trip is the seventh community service project organised by the Young Sikh Association. The volunteers, who are mostly in their 20s come from different racial and religious backgrounds.
In addition to helping the less fortunate in Punjab, the trip will also help the volunteers to gain a better understanding of each other's cultures as they will be living and working together.
The volunteers will help set up a library at the school and create a catalogue of books. They will also fix the leaky roofs in some of the classrooms and give the school building a fresh coat of paint.
Stella Ng, 20, was thrilled about her first overseas community project. Having watched videos of the region, she said the trip will help her appreciate the things that she takes for granted in Singapore.
The first-year student at the Singapore Management University said: 'The study conditions at the school are poor. The ceilings are cracked and there are no proper tables unlike our local schools which are well-equipped.'
Another participant, Vikneswaran Krishnanmurthi, 26, a special needs officer at the Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road) said that he was looking forward to meeting local teachers and sharing ideas and best practices on helping children with special needs.
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