 | |
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Location |
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Area served | Worldwide |
| Website | ggscf |
The Guru Gobind Singh Children's Foundation is a foundation run by children/youth with a vision to help other children meet their basic needs, while adding meaning to their lives, and carrying out the work in the spirit of the teachings of Sikh Gurus. [1]
The Guru Gobind Singh Children's Foundation (GGSCF) was established by children and youth in 1999 as a way to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the Khalsa and to honour the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
The origins of the youth group in Scarborough Gurdwara who took up the initiative to establish the foundation go back to 1993 when a 50 km charity relay run-a-thon was organized for the Hospital for Sick Children. Some of the younger children, as they grew up, then repeated the run in 1997 in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. The spirit from this run was then captured and energies were directed into the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa that was about two years away. At a special meeting held on May 18, 1998 some 50 children/youth and some parents helped to choose the name of the foundation and set a general direction. The feeling was that we need a foundation which could help those in need on an ongoing basis rather than having one-off events, that would be recognized in the larger community, and where the children and youth could focus their energies and do sewa as a way of showing the world the spirit of our Gurus that is in each of us. On July 3 to 5, 1998 an Akhand Path was held to obtain the Guru's blessings for the effort.
On January 23, 1999 the GGSCF held its first event to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa in the form of a dinner where plans for the 500 km charity relay run-a-thon from Toronto to Ottawa were presented. Then from July 11 to 17, 1999 children with the help of older youth and parents completed the relay run that started Dixie Gurdwara and finished on the steps of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Over 300 children took part, of which 51 children and youth ran all seven days. On the journey and with every step of the 582 km route to Parliament Hill the children and youth showed the spirit of the Sikh Gurus and thereby established the GGSCF with the blessings of WaheGuru. [1]
The Foundation continues organize and participate in events to aid the local Canadian and global communities. Its contributions have been acknowledged by Canadian leaders, like Ontario' Premier and Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, [2] international celebrities, like Fauja Singh, [3] and global NGOs, like UNICEF. [4]
1.Organize interesting, challenging, and enjoyable charity fundraising events with a focus on "…children helping children…"
2.Provide long term financial aid to support children in poverty through existing charities.
3.Organize participation of children and youth in local charity events that focus on helping children, those in poverty, the physically challenged, those that provide medical treatment or education, or those that support environmental work and thereby make our communities and world a better place for the children of tomorrow.
4.Establish an administrative system that allows the children and youth to plan and develop the running of the Foundation with a view to providing continuing personal growth of the participants.
5.Grow the Foundation by fostering the spirit of community service and responsibility in accordance with the teachings of Sikh Gurus and under the principle "that we are all children of one God." [1]
Since 1999 it has been a dream for the children and youth of the Guru Gobind Singh Children's Foundation to organize a run across Canada, the home country of the organization. In 2008 preparations were underway to make this dream into a reality. The organization began planning the run which was to begin in St. John's, Newfoundland [5] and end in Vancouver, British Columbia. The total distance to cover along the chosen route totalled 6779 km. The run was to take place in the year 2009, marking the 10th Anniversary of the organization.
On July 1, 2009, Canada Day, the epic journey began in St. John's, Newfoundland. In total there were one hundred runners and volunteers who took part and ran relay format for 61 days. Along the way the runners met with local communities and experienced the beauty of Canada. The run ended in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia on August 30, 2009.
The reason for the Children's Run Across Canada was to raise money for children's hospitals in Canada and a health project in Liberia, Africa. In total $154,000 [6] was raised by the children and youth through donations and pledges.
Gursikh Sabha Canada, Established January 1999
Sikhism is an Indian religion, and is a philosophy, that originated in the Punjab region of India, around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents.
Khalsa refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
The Damdamī Ṭaksāl, also sometimes referred to as Giani Samparda, Jatha Bhindra(n), or Sampardai Bhindra(n) is an orthodox Sikh cultural and educational organization, based in India. They are known for their teachings of vidya as well as gurbani santhya. Its headquarters are located in the town of Mehta Chowk, approximately 40 km north of the city of Amritsar. It has been described as a seminary or “moving university” of the Sikh countryside.
Anandpur Sahib, also referred simply as Anandpur, is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sacred places in Sikhism, being the place where the last two Sikh Gurus, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh, lived. It is also the place where Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. The city is home to Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, the third of the five Takhts in Sikhism.
The Nanakshahi(pronunciation: [naːnakʃaːɦiː])calendar is a tropical solar calendar used in Sikhism. It is based on the "Barah Maha", a composition composed by the Sikh gurus reflecting the changes in nature conveyed in the twelve-month cycle of the year. The year begins with the month of Chet, with 1 Chet corresponding to 14 March. The reference epoch of the Nanakshahi calendar is the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, corresponding to the year 1469 CE.
Panj Pyare refers to a gathered ad hoc quintet of five baptized (Amritdhari) Khalsa Sikhs who act as institutionalized leaders for the wider Sikh community.
Fatehgarh Sahib is a city and a sacred pilgrimage site of Sikhism in the north west Indian state of Punjab. It is the headquarters of Fatehgarh Sahib district, located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Sirhind. Fatehgarh Sahib is named after Fateh Singh, the 7-year-old son of Guru Gobind Singh, who was seized and buried alive, along with his 9-year-old brother Zoravar Singh, by the Mughals under the orders of governor Wazir Khan during the ongoing Mughal-Sikh wars of the early 18th century. The town experienced major historical events after the martyrdom of the sons in 1705, with frequent changes of control between the Sikhs and Mughals.
Guru Nanak founded the Sikh faith in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the end of fifteenth century. He was first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The tenth, Guru Gobind Singh, formalises its practices on 13 April 1699. He baptised five Sikh people from different parts of India, with different social backgrounds, to form Khalsa fauj. Those five Beloved Ones, the Pañj Piārē, then baptised him into the Khalsa fold. This gives the order of Khalsa a history of around 500 years. Historical theory and analysis suggests that Sikhism came into existence during the early Medieval period of the Bhakti movement and also after repeated invasions by Muslim rulers upon the Hindu community during Mughal rule, which lasted between especially in the region of North India.
A Sahajdhari Sikh is a person who believes in Sikhism but is not an Amritdhari. A Sahajdhari adheres to the principles of Sikhism and the teachings of the Sikh gurus but may not wear all of the Five Symbols of Sikhism. For example, Sahajdhari Sikhs often wear a kara, but many of them cut their hair (kesh).
Rehat refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifiying an approved way of life for a Sikh.
English Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.92% of England's population in 2021, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. In 2006 there were 352 gurdwaras in England. The largest Sikh populations in the U.K. are in the West Midlands and Greater London.
Gurdwara Mehdiana Sahib, also called the 'School of Sikh History' is a Sikh gurdwara located in the village of Mehdiana, just outside Mallha, near Jagraon in Ludhiana district, India.
The Singh Sabha Movement, also known as the Singh Sabha Lehar, was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements and Muslims. The movement was founded in an era when the Sikh Empire had been dissolved and annexed by the British, the Khalsa had lost its prestige, and mainstream Sikhs were rapidly converting to other religions. The movement's aims were to "propagate the true Sikh religion and restore Sikhism to its pristine glory; to write and distribute historical and religious books of Sikhs; and to propagate Gurmukhi Punjabi through magazines and media." The movement sought to reform Sikhism and bring back into the Sikh fold the apostates who had converted to other religions; as well as to interest the influential British officials in furthering the Sikh community. At the time of its founding, the Singh Sabha policy was to avoid criticism of other religions and political matters.
Hazur Sahib, also known as Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, is one of the five takhts in Sikhism. The gurdwara was built between 1832 and 1837 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839). It is located on the banks of the Godavari River at the city of Nanded in the state of Maharashtra, India.
A takht, or taḵẖat, literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. Three are located in Punjab whilst the remaining two are located outside of it.
Banda Singh Bahadur, was a Sikh warrior and a commander of the Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh(as written in Mahan Kosh), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.
Balwant Singh Nandgarh is a Sikh politician and Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, one of five seats of temporal authority of Sikhism.
The 350th Prakash Parv or birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji was celebrated in January 2017 in Patna, India. 2017 is the year of the 350th anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. At the date of this anniversary, a number of events was organized on the occasion in Patna marking a grand celebration in their history.