The COVID-19 pandemic has created many new unprecedented challenges, challenges that need innovative solutions. UNITED SIKHS has risen to the occasion to help solve these problems and further serve the communities we represent.

One area we’ve seen people have trouble in is online education, especially for children in K-12 schooling. The coronavirus has necessitated the need for lockdowns across the United States, and in turn has led to the closing of in-person education across the country. Online education presents its own challenges, as students are not able to get the extra support they need, from teachers, parents, and school related programs that are traditionally administered in person.

UNITED SIKHS has started various local programs in order to fill this gap, such as the Homework Help Club and the Cyber Security Crash Course. The Homework Help Club was first designed as an in person service, but UNITED SIKHS adapted the program to be able to serve the needs of kids through an online delivery of the program. The purpose of the program is to assist children coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds in finishing their homework. These children often need extra support in finishing their work as their parents may not have the time or ability to help them, and the schools they attend often lack the resources to create programs to aid these kids as well. The coronavirus has widened this gap of access, which is why our enrollment numbers have grown since the onset of the pandemic. This program is key to addressing the needs of people across the country.

A new program we have started is the Cyber Security Crash Course, a selective course which teaches young people about the basics of cyber security and strategy, taught by South-Asian cyber security experts across the country. UNITED SIKHS’ intention was to deliver this course in person, but the onset of the coronavirus pandemic necessitated that the course be delivered online. UNITED SIKHS was quick to adapt the curriculum, and rolled out the pilot of the program in Orange County, California, with twenty students enrolled. With the success of this program, UNITED SIKHS is looking to expand this program to serve other counties in California, and eventually, across the entire country.

UNITED SIKHS is also in the process of starting the Khalsa Tutoring Program, a tutoring service aimed at serving those who are unable to afford or do not have access to high quality tutoring. This service will start off focusing on basic subjects such as early math and reading, but is planning to expand to subjects such as Calculus, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, and SAT and AP tutoring. Eventually UNITED SIKHS’ goal is that this tutoring program will grow to be a community resource that will be helpful to anyone and everyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender etc.

In order to continue growing these programs that serve the disadvantaged, and to introduce new programs to address the needs of the underrepresented, UNITED SIKHS needs support from the community.