We are exploring a proposal to set up a youth forum for the South Asian Society. A youth forum is an organisation run and developed by young people for young people. They exist to represent the views of young people at a community level, giving them the opportunity to have a voice, discuss relevant issues, engage with decision-makers and contribute to improving the lives of other young people within their communities.
The youth forum usually consists of members across age range of 11-18 years.
Youth Forum Benefits
develop greater self-esteem and self-confidence.
develop communication skills.
develop leadership skills.
develop organisational skills.
gain self-worth and inner strength to battle negative peer pressure.
develop winning attitudes
learning how to work with other young people.
build strong and lasting friendships.
The youth forum will strive to extend and expand on the core mission and activities of SAaS but with a new and independent outlook. This will also provide a route to represent in the regional youth parliaments improving integration and cohesion from a very young age while enhancing the overall contribution of SAaS towards the local communities.
Continuing the efforts throughout this pandemic by the SAaS members, two young members of our community have raised over £1600
Sid
In the month of December, Sid Warrier trained and cycled 100 miles for supporting “Action for children” so he can help young children. Sid was interviewed by BBC Radio Devon. He said, “Over Xmas instead of asking my parents for presents, I would like to give something that can help the less fortunate children who need a safe place to live, healthy food to eat and can be cared for”.
Swetha Pandy trained to complete a half-marathon raising money for St John Ambulance helping them to provide first aid training responding to their Emergency Appeal campaign for saving lives together. The weather was extremely harsh but that did not deter Swetha’s determination and she went ahead and completed the challenge.
Swetha
It is with this community spirit and effort from all parts of the society we will build a strong and cohesive future, overcoming the challenges posed by the Pandemic.
The 2020 virtual annual cultural celebrations brought together the community at a very difficult time when social distancing and lockdown has been the norm. Despite the challenges, the event was as entertaining as in the previous years and was attended by over 130 remote attendees. The cultural event staged 16 colourful and heartwarming performances highlighting a wide variety of themes from South Asia.
The event was virtually graced by the Lord Mayor and Mayoress & Police and crime commissioner of Devon and Cornwall. Our sincere thanks to all the participants who were instrumental in making this event a huge success. We look forward to organising similar events in near future.
Please see below a few “screen shots” from the virtual event.
Members of our society are participating in a reflection series organised by BBC on their experiences during these difficult Covid times.
The series will run this week (Mon 30 Nov-Sun 6th Dec) each day at 7.20 am and might then be repeated at 8.50am too on the ‘BBC Radio Devon breakfast programme’.
They could also be repeated later in the day. This is of course not guaranteed as sometimes breaking news comes in, or things need to be altered for timings, but those times mentioned above are definitely in the plan.
The plan is to broadcast all of the pieces (i.e. Monday through until Sunday) probably in the following order:
The impact of the pandemic on health and wellbeing is well documented. A multitude of organisations, centrally and locally, are trying to do their best to help us overcome this challenge. Beyond the actual effects of the virus, the long term impacts on ones physical and mental wellbeing are acknowledged but are still being researched.
In such gloomy times, it is but natural to feel anxious and demoralised. While we cannot control external factors that impact our lives, we can certainly dive deep within us to find the strength and energy to mitigate and where possible overcome the negative impacts on our health and wellbeing.
In order to facilitate such a journey “within”, South Asian Society of Devon and Cornwall is delighted to offer 3 preliminary free Yoga webinars for community members across the region. We are partnering with the internationally renowned “Isha Foundation” who are accredited partners of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Locally we are delighted to be partnering with Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Devon and Cornwall who are co-sponsoring the event with us.
All sessions listed below will be delivered by trained “Isha Foundation” facilitators.
No previous experience of yoga required This session is open to anybody over the age of 12
Through simple postures, breathing practices and guided meditations, these tools will help you become the architect of your own wellbeing; fostering a peaceful, joyful and most importantly balanced state of body, mind and emotions. The practices require a space the size of a yoga mat and some can even be done whilst sitting at a desk.
No previous experience of yoga required This session is open to anybody over the age of 12
Depending on the response and demand we will look to provide further sessions in future.
Due to the recent national lockdown announcement, we have postponed the Virtual Annual event to 19th December. This will allow members more time to prepare while we are not allowed to meet in small groups.
Please find attached details on Guidelines for the virtual event.
There will be a nominal charge of £5 per family to cover the costs of the virtual platform.
13th Dec 2020 – Deadline for submitting pre-recorded performance (On request extension till 16th)
19th Dec 2020 – SAaS Virtual Annual Event
We recognise that it is relatively short notice but as we will use pre-recorded videos, we feel there will be sufficient time to plan and deliver good quality performances. Through your active, enthusiastic participation and cooperation, we look forward to organising a successful and memorable virtual cultural evening.
Following our earlier communication, we have discussed our options during the AGM as well as in our trustee meeting following the AGM. In line with prevailing guidance, we have decided not to organise any face to face event this year. However, in these difficult times when we are increasingly isolated, it is ever more important to ensure we are socially engaged within and outside the community.
In a true community spirit, we are in discussions to organise our Annual Event virtually. It will of course not be the same experience but we are hoping to make it bigger and better. Quoting Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity“. Through our annual event, we are usually able to engage between 200 to 400 community members. Organising such an event virtually will potentially allow us to engage with a much wider population in Devon and Cornwall.
Please save the date 28th November in your diaries. Further information and details will follow in our October Newsletter in the last week of October.
As a charity, we have now signed up with Amazon Smile. For those who are not aware and if you shop on Amazon, it is a way for you to support our work and our ability to organise more events and activities in future. By following the steps below, you will be able to add us as your preferred charity. If you shop on Amazon, they will then donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to us when you shop. There is no additional cost to you.
Step 2 – When shopping online, rather than visiting www.amazon.co.uk, please bookmark smile.amazon.co.uk and do your shopping as usual.
Step 3 – On your Amazon mobile app find ‘Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
That’s it. If you need any further information of clarifications then please feel free to email us.
One of the very important festival among the hundreds of feasts and festivities in the Hindu culture is Nag Panchami . It is an extremely significant day in the Hindu calendar and this year it was celebrated on 25th of July 2020 on Saturday. It was celebrated throughout Nepal and India and other countries where Hindu adherents live. Worship is offered to Nag Devata or Serpent God on the fifth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Shravan, (July / August) according to the Hindu almanac. This is an annual celebration with the devotees of both Lord Shiva and Vishnu observing the day with great reverence and devotion.
Tradition and faith decree that observing fast on the day offers protection against snakebite. When you recall that the subcontinent has almost 300 varieties of snakes, 50 out of which are highly poisonous (Huffington Post), it suddenly makes sense to propitiate the serpent God! On this day, idols/ photos of serpent Gods are worshipped with offerings of milk, sweets, flowers, and lamps. At many places, devotees also offer milk to live snakes. Communities come together with dance and food, celebrating the bonds between man and nature. Nag Panchami Puja is a momentous reminder that one should love, respect, and embrace all forms of life on earth.
Raksha Bandhan (or more simply Rakhi) is a festival that is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Shravan according to the Hindu Lunar calendar. This day is a celebration of the love and respect between siblings marked by sisters tying a Rakhi or a colourful thread/band around their brothers’ wrists. The brother affirms his respect and duty of care for his sister. The word Raksha means protection, whilst Bandhan is the verb to tie. Traditionally the sisters tying a Rakhi around their brothers’ wrists celebrates their relationship. The sister prays for the brother’s health, happiness and success and puts a tikka on his forehead and offers a sweet to him, he in turn gives her a gift.
The festival goes back to antiquity with many legends and stories associated with them. It has now evolved over the years to celebrate other relationships like those between friends and close ones, spreading the message of love, respect, and care. Rakhi is a vital reminder that one should love, respect, and embrace relationships and value them forever. It is a significant festival in the Hindu calendar, followed eight days later by Janamashtami (which we shall cover in the next issue). This year it will be celebrated on the 3rd of August.
As the situation is still uncertain and the government rules for social distancing are constantly changing, we now aim to organise the AGM online on 29th August from 10:30 am – 12 pm.
Subject to social distancing rules, we are planning to walk in the afternoon of the same day in the moors. We will provide details of the AGM and the walk in due course.
Existing trustees please email chairpersonsaas@gmail.com by 21st August 2020 if you would like to continue as Trustee. We also encourage members of our society, keen to play an active role, to consider joining as associate trustee. Please email us (chairpersonsaas@gmail.com) if you are interested to join by 21st August 2020.
There are no further updates on the Annual Event planning yet as we are monitoring the current situation. We will provide an update in the September Newsletter.
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