Mission

Sikh without Borders is creating a next generation movement by offering global leadership programs for Sikhs that inspire and empower them to take action that transforms the world.

WE'RE BUILDING A GLOBAL

REVOLUTION FOR OUR FUTURE LEADERS

Together, Let's Change The World!

BUILDING A NEW BREED OF SIKH LEADERS

EMPOWERING SIKHS TO TAKE ACTION THAT TRANSFORMS THE WORLD

Our Goals

Inspired by values of Sikhism, Sikhs Without Borders will provide life changing global experiences in international countries where the participants will learn, explore and serve in disadvantaged communities to build characteristics and strengthen values of becoming future global leaders.

Sikhs Without Borders offers students the opportunity to go on a 2 week to a 6 week experience where they learn from and exchange ideas with some of the world's top global business leaders, foreign ambassadors, social entrepreneurs, policy officials, civil advocates, human rights workers, journalists and academicians in dynamic environments of learning and sharing.

Sikhs Without Borders is more than a study abroad or volunteer abroad program. It is a genuine life changing experience that will catalyze the next generation of Sikhs to become future global leaders that change the world.
Our goal is to have hundreds of young Sikhs becoming future leaders in decades to come and be an integral part of changing the world.

Innovation Delivered!

Volunteer Abroad on Global Leadership Trips

PROGRAMS

At Sikhs Without Borders: we believe that a great leader maintains a global perspective, open mind and caring outlook while impacting others. Hence, this unique leadership program will inspire, equip & mobilize leaders through international experiences on three main platforms:

Learn and Lead

Mission: To Create Leadership Engagement on Global Issues

We will conduct cultural workshops, intensive language learning, business seminars and invite international speakers on global issues

Explore and Emphatize

Mission: To Explore Culture and Grow

Visit beautiful, historic buildings and local sites as well as visit places of importance in terms of social issues

Serve and Serve Humbly:

Mission: To Build Social Change Entrepreneurs

Connect participants with nonprofit leaders and local grassroots organizations to do community service and help them with their needs

The SWB global leadership program will take place in two to 6 week segments in countries like China, Peru, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, India, South Africa, Guatemala etc that will bring a handson approach to global issues in social entrepreneurship, multicultural identity, environmental sustainability, human rights and other issues that provide our youth a global context in building lifelong leadership skills.

India

Travel, Explore and Serve

Discover, Learn, Grow

Highlights of Some of the Activities on the Trip: Work in rural day care centers and organize a summer camp for children
Gaze in wonder at the Taj Mahal
Tackle issues of sustainability in a remote community
Meet cutting-edge non-profit organizations
Hike the snow-capped Himalayan mountains
Reflect in the temple of the Dalai Lama
Hear from leaders of the Tibetan refugee community

Overview

Full of life, energy, color, and fragrances, India is an extremely diverse country. It is filled with vast differences in geography, climate, culture, language, and ethnicity. You will be immersed in local community life in the small townships of Punjab and in Dharamsala, in the majestic Himalayan region. In addition to working in day care centers, learning new languages and running a summer camp, you will experience both traditional Punjabi and Himalayan culture and that of the Tibetan exile community. You’ll learn about prominent issues regarding environmental sustainability, poverty, education etc. Of course, the journey would not be complete without a visit to the Golden Temple and Taj Majal.

Community Service

We’ll juggle rewarding projects during the program that will give us a glimpse into the lives of the region’s people. Helping to run a summer camp for Himalayan children, ranging from 4 to 15 years of age, we’ll develop arts and crafts projects, sports games, and dance and theatre workshops. We’ll also work in day care centers where the teachers and staff run their establishments with minimal resources.

Hands-On Learning

We’ll learn about the diversity of Indian culture, pressing social issues and about India’s role on the global stage. You will have the opportunity to converse with grassroots leaders, environmental activists, and local political figures. While you’re spending time in Punjab, you'll learn about the community, values and philosophies that has grown Punjab. You'll also spend time in aTibetan refugee town, where you'll learn about Tibetan Buddhism, arts, and music. You’ll also taste the flavors of Punjabi and Tibetan cuisine and even learn to cook some meals yourself. This is going to be a life changing hands on learning experience.

Adventure

A private air-conditioned taxi will take us from Delhi to Chandigarh to Amritsar to Dharamsala that is one of the most visually stunning regions on earth. During one weekend, we’ll hike out to a rural village where we’ll camp out and live among the semi-nomadic Gaddi people and learn about their culture. We’ll spend the other weekend exploring Dharamsala and significant places related to Tibetan Buddhism. We will spend a week in Punjab to volunteer with nonprofits on important societal issues. The journey begins and ends in Delhi where we will also visit Bangla Sahib and other Gurdwaras in the city. At the end of the program, we’ll travel south to the Taj Mahal, one of the great architectural marvels of the world.

India Program Dates

December 15 – January 5, 2015
July 8 – July 28, 2015

Duration: 21 days
Tuition: $4,999 * (Scholarships Available)
Student/Staff Ratio: 5 to 1
Community Service Hours: 50

PARTICIPANTS

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We have built different programs for three main groups:
1. High school students, ages 15-18
2. College and Young Adults – 19 24
3. Adults – 25 + onwards
We expect and hope to inspire Sikhs to participate from around the world, while we realize majority of them will be from USA and Canada. We search for a few key things in a participant:
1. One who understands, believes or is inspired by the values of Sikhism
2. One who is enthusiastic about learning and traveling internationally
3. One who has a genuine concern for others and inspired to do community service
4. One who is excited to learn and develop as a global leader
5. One who is passionate about global issues, human rights and service
6. One who is open minded and interested to live abroad and learn about another culture

WHEN DO PROGRAMS OCCUR

We will have multiple global leadership programs throughout the year:
• During Winter Break: December, January
• During Spring Break: March, April
• During Summer: June, July and August

Born to Lead

STAND OUT

HOW DO WE MEASURE IMPACT

We will measure our success in two key ways:
1. By creating a global leadership program that gets Sikhs generation ready for 21st century
2. By selecting a group of talented, willing, able and ready young Sikhs who will put all their efforts and knowledge into action that impacts the world.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT

Here are Five Main Reasons That Makes Sikhs Without Borders Leadership Experience Pioneering:
1. Safety – We have a ten step safety guide to ensure safety of our youth and all participants
2. Service learning – We provide unique service learning opportunities that inspire and empower
3. Cultural immersion – The program provides a genuine immersion with language, food & culture
4. Excellent staff – SWB team has decades of leadership experience in managing global programs
5. Partnerships – We have teamed up with firstclass organizations and foundations to build this

SIKHS WITHOUT BORDERS HAS A TEAM OF GLOBAL SIKH ADVISORS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING HUMAN CONDITION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE, COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION.

WHY US?

The team has years of global leadership experience from corporate sector to policy making to nonprofit sector to social entrepreneurship. They also have first hand community service experience leading in many human disasters and working on real civic advocacy and human rights causes. The leaders of the organization have together been to over 100 countries and can provide an in-depth personal experience on cultural immersion and global issues. The founder is a Sikh and has led in many global platforms and been invited to address as a keynote speaker many times. This is the team that understands what it takes to get ready a next generation of young Sikh leaders.

TEAM EXPERIENCES

The Sikhs Without Borders team is an experienced one and has first hand global experiences and were selected to the following leading programs of the world :
1. American Marshall Memorial Fellowship
2. Asia21 Fellowship
3. East-West Fellowship
4. New Leaders Council Fellowship
5. Starting Bloc Fellowship
6. Fuse Corps Fellowship
7. University of Peace Sustainability Program

Our Team

Navneet Singh Narula (Neet)

Founder & Executive Director

Navneet is Sikhs Without Borders driving force. He is a global change leader and an authority on leadership and innovation. His passion is enabling innovators to realize their untapped potential and help build solutions that change peoples’ lives around the world. Formerly, he was a top management executive at Accenture where he focused on mergers and acquisitions for Wall Street and Fortune 500 clients and was honored by Consulting Magazine as Top 30 Consultants in America. He is an Aspen Institute Fellow, American Marshall Memorial Fellow, Asia Society Fellow, Fuse Corps Fellow, New Leaders Council Fellow & Starting Bloc Social Innovation Fellow. He was recognized by Hillary Clinton as “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business”, selected as one of the “Best Finance Executives” and honored as Top 40 Progressive Leaders in America. He graduated and studied at Top institutions: Stanford Business School, Georgetown MBA, Cornell University, ESADE and Michigan State University. He is passionate traveler and has ventured to 98 countries, speaks 5 languages and was an internationally ranked tennis player.

Follow @NavneetNarula

Jennifer McKenna

Chief Partnership Officer

Jennifer strenghtens Sikhs Without Borders partnerships and works with businesses and leaders who are in crisis, conflict, transformational growth or transition – all indicators of paramount change.
She is a a coach by nature and facilitator by trade. She specializes in relationship and strategy development and is savvy at identifying patterns that prohibit productivity and profitability. Jennifer leads the empowerment-based change management program to inspire leaders and company departments and teaches them how to leverage the company’s mission and its people to achieve multiple measurable victories. She has been featured on Fox Atlanta and CBS and lives in Atlanta with her beautiful children.

Keisha Cameron

Program Officer

Keisha is a social entrepreneur, cross-cultural communications specialist, and the guru of culture innovation. She is passionate about promoting mutual understanding between corporate, government and social cultures through engagement, hospitality and play.

Studied in socio-cultural anthropology and seasoned with over a decade of brand marketing expertise, Keisha's enthusiasm for life and living are evident in her ability to craft cross-cultural experiences that tell stories and build bridges between both people and ideas.

At Sikhs Without Borders she designs multicultural community engagement programs, helping others facilitate changes that leverage diversity and increase inter-cultural communication and collaboration.

Dr. Varsha Kaur

Board of Advisors / Mentor

Dr. Varsha is an international expert on operations management and done extensive studies on innovation in home management, human development and organizational sustainability. She is focused on helping companies envision and create new growth, manage transformation, and achieve renewal through business model innovation. Formerly, she was a President of a prestigious university in India where she led the school to national prominence in just 8 years. She has her Ph.D from Punjab University, India and happily married with her husband of over 38 years and enjoys spending all her time after work with her granddaughter.

Harinder Singh

Board of Director

Harinder has over 30+ years of global experience in the product innovation space and has consulted top companies and startups working in a wide range of industries, including – energy, mechanical, electronics, IT, consumer goods, civil engineering and been a top executive where he even advised government in India on innovation and entrepreneurship. Harinder is a true tree hugger and one with the nature. When, not changing the world through innovation, he is naming his flowers in his garden or cooking up some amazing global dishes through his imagination and they are yummy and quite the story teller moments in our office.