In March 2020, the Center for Disease Control declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the world went into lockdown, halting community gatherings and profoundly changing people’s lives. In one of the world’s darkest hours, Sikhs around the world stepped up to respond to the needs of this crisis by redefining what seva looks like to help those in need.
This year, SALDEF’s SikhLEAD program collaborated with Nishkam TV to create a documentary on COVID relief efforts executed by Sikhs worldwide. Nishkam TV is an established online media company run by the Sikh youth. Their mission is to provide wholesome media content through a Sikhi lens regarding building dialogue, increasing understanding, and promoting interactions between different faiths and cultures to bring us closer as one humanity.
The project team consisted of 6 Nishkam TV production and content writing students and 9 summer interns from the SALDEF's SikhLead program mentored by Nishkam TV founder Harbaldeep Singh.
This collaboration resulted in a documentary titled “SEVA” highlighting how the pandemic has profoundly impacted people around the world and how Sikhs have contributed to helping others and ultimately saving lives. This documentary aims to honor all those who lost their lives and those Sikhs who selflessly served in this crisis.
The documentary was released at the Parliament of World Religions Conference on Oct 17th, 2021. It is now premiering at the Sikhlens Film Festival on Nov 20th. SALDEF and NishkamTV are also in talks with PBS for worldwide release.
Films or documentaries are typically considered the purview of professionals with film school or professional experience. When PBS learned that this documentary was researched and written by students, they commissioned a project for us to make a film on the making of this documentary highlighting the students' motivation, experience, and learning process.
We are raising funds to make a companion documentary "The Making of SEVA: Sikh Youth Motivation and Perspective." We plan to bring all the students together in one location and use professional cameras and crew to make a high-quality production. The funds raised will be used to produce this behind-the-scenes documentary, the first of its kind, highlighting community contributions and the incredible efforts of our youth.