The Impact you have helped make

Dear Supporter,

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh.

I want to share a beautiful story with you. I happened to run into a young lady at a Gurdwara in Mississauga, Ontario, yesterday, who I thought was an international student. I found out that she was a senior in high school, born and brought up in Canada, also taking some courses in a college. She spoke fluent Punjabi, so I mistook her for being from Punjab. Her confidence really captivated me, so we talked for a while. She seemed equally interested in answering my questions about her education. Our conversation led to her telling me about a project she did on Sikh Genocide in her Social Studies class and how she got full marks on it - it was the best in the class. I was very interested, mainly because they were asked to research less-known genocides and write about them.

The details she shared sounded very familiar, so I asked her what her references were. She told me about this excellent book she had picked up from the Ontario Khalsa Darbar, and 90% of her research was based on it. She raved about that book and told me it was beautifully written and illustrated. I asked her about the author. She didn't remember the name but told me the book's title. So I smiled big and introduced her to the author. She was taken aback and raised her sleeve a few minutes later and showed me the goosebumps. Then she rushed and got her whole family to meet me. She and her father shared many tears --- my blessing for the day.

She believes every high school and college student in Canada and beyond should read #JSKTheBook. I said that's precisely why I gave two years of my life to it. 

If you have high school or college students at home or in extended family please consider empowering them by introducing this book to them. Sometimes parents hesitate to discuss the information themselves. I have spoken to a few teenagers in various Gurmat schools who have none or inadequate information about the Sikh Genocide or incorrect information based on the internet. Our kids get gaslighted by our own or others if they come from a place without knowledge. They need to own their recent history and this book does that very powerfully so.

Back home in Punjab, Since our human resource potential was limited, in the last quarter, we partnered with several on-ground organizations working with youth and donated our books so they could reach more educators and students. Some of our partners include Sikh Aid and Sikhi Awareness Foundation. I am sharing a picture from SAF's educators conferece where they distributed these books. 

I thank you for your continued support and hope that we will be able to make more impact in the upcoming quarter and bring you some powerful stories. 

Guru Ang Sang,

Gurmeet Kaur 

www.pippal.org