Sukhmeet Sachal: Connecting faith to science

Sukhmeet Singh Sachal, a second-year medical student at the University of British Columbia, has recently committed to implementing public health interventions at Gurdwaras to stop the spread of COVID 19

The Coronavirus pandemic locked many of us inside our houses. But it could not stop our elderly population to take a leap of faith and visit Gurdwaras and other places of worship. It became important to spread awareness of basic safety measures amongst our elderly. Sukhmeet Singh Sachal, a second-year medical student at the University of British Columbia, has recently committed to implementing public health interventions at Gurdwaras in British Columbia to protect elderly patrons and the general public, under Clinton Foundation initiative for fight COVID-19 pandemic.

Sukhmeet was recently named as one of the two Canadians among 38 youth worldwide to have received funding from the Clinton Foundation.

Under Sukhmeet’s initiative the idea is to create awareness amongst the temple devotees especially the elders about the need for taking precautions during this pandemic. “With the active cases of COVID-19 rising in BC, we want to keep patrons visiting the Gurdwaras safe. Especially, our messaging will be targeted towards our elders who attend Gurdwaras not just for their spiritual well-being, but also for the sense of community that is formed,” says Sukhmeet.

As many as 1,400 youth from all over the world had applied to the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) COVID-19 Student Action Fund and after much scrutiny, 38 projects were selected.

Working within the CGI U Commitment to Action model, this fund is geared towards 38 innovative social impact projects addressing the public health, economic and societal impacts of the novel coronavirus — with commitments including infectious disease monitoring and response systems; social enterprises; awareness and prevention campaigns; and other emergency response initiatives to provide immediate support for public health practitioners and other essential workers on the frontlines.

The fund provides $100,000 in total to select students at universities around the world, with each grant awarded ranging up to $5,000. The Action Fund was first announced by former U.S. President Bill Clinton during the 2020 CGI U At Home virtual event, which featured conversations with national and international government and public health leaders.

These projects are made through CGI U’s “Commitment to Action” model, pioneered by Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in 2005. From 2005 through 2016, more than 3,600 commitments were made through CGI which have improved the lives of over 435 million people worldwide.

This grant will be used to educate the people about the need to wear masks regularly and use proper hygiene to remain safe. In collaboration with some of the gurdwaras, regular health monitoring will be done, and the temple volunteers and staff will be educated to maintain proper health procedures. “The aim of this initiative is to bring about a collective change in how our population views and reacts against COVID-19. Initially, we have already started the initiative at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC. With more funding, we hope to expand to other Gurdwaras, as well as other places of worship such as Mandirs, Masjids, and Churches,” informs Sukhmeet.

He adds that once the pandemic started, although every place of worship was asked to follow safety precautions, there was not much awareness. “There was barely anyone wearing masks, and no one seemed to be washing their hands when entering or physical distancing. What we are doing is having our volunteers in specific booths behind a plexiglass barrier to discuss physical distancing measures, distribute cloth masks, and promote hand hygiene measures with videos, which will be played in both Punjabi and English. Physical distancing and wearing masks are important issues of concern at the Gurdwaras and we hope to target and implement these precautions through our project.”

Sukhmeet says that through this initiative, he and his team of volunteers aim to educate on three main aspects. “My main message would be for everyone to protect yourself and your loved ones during this unpredictable time. As we potentially surge towards a second wave, it is imperative that we continue to practice public health measures: physical distancing, wearing a mask, and washing our hands constantly.”

• Physical distancing: please ensure you are always 6 feet apart when inside the Gurdwara
• Hand hygiene: proper hand washing techniques and make sure you are washing your hands for at least 20 seconds when you enter the Gurdwara
• Importance of wearing a mask: Please make sure when you are entering the Gurdwara, you are wearing a mask for your safety and the safety of the people around you. Always wash your hands before you put your mask on and before you take it off.

More than 90 volunteers have already been recruited to spread awareness. Anandita Joshi, who serves as the Project Coordinator, has a humble request to all the elderly who visit the Gurdwara find solace not only in the religious services provided, but also through the community that is formed. “Ultimately, this initiative aspires to provide extra safety measures that can allow patrons to practice their faith in a safe and healthy manner.” Tavleen Ramgarhia , the project’s Volunteer Coordinator says,“The initiative hopes that the education about masks and hand hygiene will carry forward in the broader community context.”

Sukhmeet also hopes to make this into a research project, where they collect data on the number of masks distributed and the efficacy of the education surrounding these public health measures in order to improve future policy recommendations around pandemics and religious services. He has recruited a Public Health Professional, Nilima Sibi, to help with this research.

On top of his work with the South Asian Community, Sukhmeet is also working on another project known as Translation4OurNations with Harvard Medical Student Victor Lopez-Carmen, University of Toronto Public Health Graduates ThilaxcyYohathasan and Sterling Stutz, and youth from around the world to translate COVID-19 information into over 130 local Indigenous languages from across the world. This is in collaboration with the UN Youth Envoy, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), and the UN Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC).