17th June, 2012

1. Community work in General:

• leadership roles in Indian community Medical Associations and community organisations,
• helping students in my district in India by visiting and giving scholarships etc.

2. My work as the coordinator of the Indian Consul General’s committee on students’ issues:
Indian Consul General’s Community Committee on Students’ Issues, Sydney, NSW was formed at the Indian Consulate on 6th April 2009. It did intensive work and completed its task in a very efficient manner. After accomplishing its mandated task, it dissolved itself at the end of June 2009.

The committee had Mr Harmohan [Harry] Walia, Mr Vish Viswanathan, Mrs Shubha Kumar, Mr Stanley D’Cruz and I as its members. I was its coordinator.

This committee had done following activities;

• met students numerous times.
• organized a students’ forum on 16th May at Strathfield.
• co-organized a students’ forum with UIA in Strathfield on 6th June.
• arranged help to a woman student who was a victim of domestic violence.
• arranged help to 2 women students who were stalked by another Indian co-worker.
• arranged meetings with minister of education, NSW and her senior advisers and students from an aviation school.
• arranged a meeting with the president, NSW upper House [Mr Peter Primrose] and Ms Helen Westwood MLA and Flying school students.
• arranged a meeting with a community minded lawyer and aviation school students.
• met the visiting mother of a student of an aviation school. This lady’s husband had died only 4 weeks ago due to the serious stress involved in losing the money with the school in Sydney.
• arranged and participated in TV coverage of students’ issues on Channel 7, 9, 10, SBS TV, ABC TV, and Bloomberg.
• participated in the coverage of students’ issues on ABC radio, SBS radio, SBS Hindi radio, 2UE, JJJ, Indian Link radio, Radio UMANG, 2GB radio and SBS Kannada Radio.
• arranged talk-backs on students’ issues on SBS radio and Radio UMANG [98.5MHZ, Fridays, 8-9 PM]. Radio Umang has ceased functioning now.
• participated in coverage of students’ issues on SMH, The Australian, Daily Telegraph, other newspapers and AAP.
• participated in the coverage of students’ issues on Indian newspapers in Australia [Indian Link, Indus Age, The Indian, The Indian Sub-Continent Times and Indian Down Under].
• participated in the coverage of students’ issues on TimesNow, NDTV, CNN/IBN, Headlines Today, AajTak and other Indian TV Channels.
• participated in the coverage of students’ issues on main Indian newspapers like Times of India and PTI.
• assisted some top-grade Australian media programs like Four Corners from ABC, with wide audience in getting students’ issues covered.
• arranged funds for the accommodation for the relatives Mr Rajesh Kumar [the petrol bomb victim from Harris Park] at the request from Indian Consulate.
• met and networked with Commander Robert Redfern, Parramatta Local area Command of NSW Police several times for students’ issues.
• counseled students to stop further processions after the ones in Harris Park streets.
• participated in the community leaders’ meeting with chairman, Community Relations Commission [CRC] at CRC HQ.
• participated in a CRC organized meeting with Indian students at Parramatta RSL.
• participated in the community leaders’ meeting with the Premier, Mr Nathan Rees.
• met Indian Consul General and Consul in regards to these matters several times.
• discussed and formulated the strategy to solve the problems of our students.
• submitted this strategy to the Consul General of India and NSW task force and other relevant authorities.
• provided leadership in the matters relating to Indian students.
• gave our after hours and week-ends for students’ work and provided pastoral care to the needy students.
• provided/facilitated medical help to the needy students/their family members.
• met the visiting Indian journalists at the Consulate.
• raised our voice forcefully against the exploitation of Indian students by some Indian employers.
• appealed to the Indian newspapers and Radio programs to ask questions from every leader [on students' issues] about their involvement in any activity which created a conflict of interest in those matters.

3. My community work beyond/outside the Consul General’s committee on students:

• helped the refund of >$12000 to a student of a Flying school.
• arranged legal assistance to the students from this Flying school from a solicitor in Sydney and Canberra.
• facilitated a good outcome between parties involving VETAB, Flying school and students.
• held several meetings involving VETAB Director and other authorities, the Flying school representatives and students in my office and VETAB offices.
• worked and organized refunds/savings of >$300000 [including waiving of about $50000f the legal fees in regards to a legal proceedings in the Supreme Court where students had lost their case and costs was awarded against them]] for a Flying school students from ESOS scheme with the help of VETAB, DEEWR and federal education dept. I was the key and the only Indian person in this work for these students. I did this as I felt it was my duty to help students from my community who were feeling powerless in Australian system.
• helped payment of >$2400 to a student which was originally denied by his employer.
• donated $500 to an Indian students’ students association.
• arranged sponsorship of $1000 for foods, meeting hall and public liability insurance for a students’ association.
• mentoring students for their careers and future in OZ.
• donated $500 to Australia Hindi Indian Association’s [AHIA] seniors.
• donated $500 to Fiji floods relief fund via International congress of Fiji Indians and organized $2000 donations from other doctors.
• donated $500 to Sanatan Arya Pratinidhi Samaj, Sydney.
• donated a good amount [>$2000] for needy/deserving causes involving victims of earthquakes, accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses.
• helping several students including assault victims for their work comp, treatment and issues involving their parents.
• liaised with NSW Police higher authorities in regards to the assaults of 2 Indians in Sydney.
• advised/mentored several others in regards to the steps they needed to take when they were assaulted.
• took leadership role on Indian Australian community matters in the media-Indian and Australia media [Chanel 9, SBS, NDTV, Indian ethnic newspapers].
• helped Radio National in making a documentary on students [see details in this BLOG elsewhere].
• helping community members from India and South Asia with a concessional fees structure. [a service worth more than $50000/year]. People from other communities, if they can’t afford specialist medical practitioner’s fees are also included.
• tried to clean the community leadership and making them accountable.
• exposed commission taking by some leaders of an Indian community association in Sydney.
• taking a leadership role against unfair portrayal of Australia as a Racist society by Indian media with interviews and debates.
• took part in “Is Australia a Racist nation” debate with David Penberthy [Ex Editor, Daily Telegraph] in Sunrise programme of Ch 7.
• mentoring medical doctors from India in regards to their training and registration issues.
• helped a House Surgeon who was facing exclusion from the medical work due to her unfair treatment in a Sydney hospital and then working actively with this young doctor and her supervisors including Hospital administrators to get her into the internship at a different hospital, thus leading to a successful outcome.
• worked as a catalyst in resolving the issues between Indian consul General, Sydney and some businessmen with a successful outcome.
• took an active and a leading role in resolving the issues between Indus Age [after a controversial ad] and the community.
• formed a community committee, Friends of International Students,  www.fairgo4internationalstudents.org. against Visa Capping Bill in May 2010 and lobbied with the Govt ministers and Media against this Bill which was very harmful to the students. Worked actively for this committee, visiting community gatherings, temples and Gurdwaras to collect signatures against this Bill. We also met the Immigration minister, Mr Chris Evans, asking him to not proceed with this Bill.
• founded a national organization called National Council of Indian Australians [NCIA, www.ncia.org.au] with participation from all over Australia [all states and territories representatives] and co-chaired it.
• spoke as the leading doctor in the Health Summit, organized by GOPIO, Sydney, educating/informing people on Health matters on 4th Dec, 2010.
• helped a family locate their son [International student] http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/a-dumped-bike-a-glimpse-on-sydney-stations-cctv-what-happened-to-indian-student-abhijeet-20101006-166rs.html.
• raised $7100 for Qld Flood relief on 28th Jan, 2011.
• took up the matter involving HINDI in the Australian national draft curriculum-Languages and wrote to ACARA, in addition to supporting Australian Hindi Committee.
• Organized India Day Fair, 7^th Aug, 2011, at Parramatta Park, Parramatta.
• Organized Australia Day and Indian Republic Day celebrations in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
• Took part in “Clean Up Australia Day” events in Liverpool and Toongabbie in March, 2012.

4. Health Education Seminars for the Community:

• First such Seminar with GOPIO in Dec, 2010.
• Second such seminar in Dec, 2011.
• Third such Seminar with GOPIO, 28th April, 2012.
• Multiple Radio interviews and talk backs [Darpan Radio, SBS Hindi Radio, Dhanak Radio, Navtarang Radio, SBS Punjabi Radio] on Health matters.
• Anchored Radio UMANG Health Show.

5.  Sri Mandir Temple matter:

• took up the issue of attacks on Sri Mandir temple, Auburn and brought it to the national media.
• attended, and continuing to attend, meetings with Police, along with temple committee members.

6. Australian Uranium to India Issue:

• raised the issue of Australian Uranium sale to India during the Australia India Day celebration on 24th Jan, 2010 where several ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLC, and media people were present.
• wrote an Opinion Piece on this issue in the prestigious Journal of Mining & Investment Australia.
• wrote in Foreign Policy Research Centre [FPRC] Journal twice-one on India-Australia relations and 2^nd on India’s Look East Policy, advocating sale of Australian Uranium to India.
• raised Uranium issue during Australia Day/Indian Republic Day event, in Jan, 201o and 2011, in presence of senior Australian politicians.
• raised Uranium issue in India Day Fair, Parramatta on 7^th Aug, 2011, in presence of senior Australian politicians, including Ministers.

7. Incorrect Map of India in DIAC [Dept of Immigration and Citizenship], Australia website:

• campaigned effectively for removal of an incorrect map of India [which had excluded Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir] in DIAC website and succeeded.

8. Kyle Sandilands & 2DayFM issue:

• campaigned against insulting comments from Kyle Sandilands, 2DayFM and forced them to offer an apology for his comments against India and River Ganges.

9. Lord Ganesh Vs Third Reich play and Goddess Lakshmi picture on a Bikini matters:

• campaigned along with others on these matters and made our concerns known assertively, via Blog, calls, Facebook and interview with The Age newspaper.

10. Community Relations Commission [CRC] Working Group on International students 2009-10:

• participated as an active member of the working party with CRC on students including inputs for Z information card.

11. CRC Deepavali Committee 2011-12:

• Worked as a member of this committee to have NSW Govt hosting Deepavali in NSW Parliament-the only such Indian event.

12 Ministerial Consultative Committee for Indian Australian Community in NSW 2011-12:

• NSW Minister Victor Dominello has appointed me as one of the members. I am working as a member of this committee to deal with issues relevant to Indian Australian community in NSW.
• Contributing as an active member of the sub-committes [of this MCC] on Community service, Comunication, Trade & Investment, Immigration, Youth and new migrants

13. Networking with community and m.edia:

• Blog: www.yadusingh.wordpress
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dryadusingh
• Facebook www.facebook.com/dryadusingh
• LinkedIn http://au.linkedin.com/pub/yadu-singh/52/581/864
• Newspapers: Writing in Navtarang, Beyond India, Chak De India, Indian Subcontinent Times, The Indian, Indian Overseas Times, The IndoAus Times and other newspapers.

I have not listed everything I have done or am doing. This blog has more information elsewhere and Google search can also provide moreinfo.

Yadu Singh/Sydney/17th June, 2012

Image via Wikipedia

Life is a complex thing. We live, eat and work. That is a routine which we all go through. We have fun and face moments of sadness sometimes. We attack [? criticise] people at times and get attacked [?criticised] by people too. This is all a part of living. This is all a part of “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam”!

There are things we do with which we experience satisfaction and there are things with which we don’t feel satisfied at all.

Helping our own family members and getting thanked for is clearly satisfying but is also our duty. Helping someone who is not exactly part of the family and getting thanked for is definitely more fulfilling and satisfying. I have no doubt about it at all!

I met Vishal Sarawat, a flying student in Sydney, in a meeting organised for the exploited students in 2009. He is from Gaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a sincere, decent and genuine Indian student who had arranged the funds in India and came to Sydney to train as a Pilot. He came to Sydney to train and return back to India.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to his plans. He paid the fees but did not get what was expected.

He went through a lot of emotional and physical pain.

I sensed his anguish and felt the need to help him. This then led to an effective networking with media, VETAB, Govt officials, ESOS, Lawyers and Ministers. Cash Cow programme [Four Corners, ABC], for which we gave our assistance, helped us a lot. It was my initiative for Flying school students.

His story is here. >>>>>>>>MyStory-Vishal-Sarawat

Knowing him well over more than 20 months, he has now become a younger brother to me.

I am proud to have been able to help him against the massive exploitation by this school.

I declare right here that  I did it without any personal benefit or consideration. I had no conflict of interest in this matter either.

Yadu Singh/Sydney/21st April, 2011

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

I took them as my younger brothers, gave them my office to use on the weekends and provided them all the help I could.  They have had a torrid time which I had seen first hand. My medical background was quite useful as I could also provide psychological support to them.

You might remember that Four Corners [ABC] made a documentary on their plight in 2009. It was my efforts that their case was featured in that programme. I had a direct role in getting their story aired which helped us significantly.

This project included working with them actively, interacting with this Aviation school, VETAB officials, ESOS officials, NSW Govt and Federal Govt officials. Whenever we needed help, we sought it from Indian Govt officials in Australia, although there was not much we needed from them. It was our project and we had to get the result.

With the persistent work for well over 12 months, we achieved the result which even we had not imagined.

They received full refund of their fees which they were entitled for. Some of them had already returned to India and they also received the refunds. This helped them finish their training or get on with their lives. They could help their parents who had taken big loans for their training in Australia. The total refund was more than $250000.00.

Please click the LINK.>>>>>  Arun-Kumar-letter

I am hugely satisfied and extremely proud that I could help them. They deserved this.

I also declare that I did not have any conflict of interest here and did not benefit from my work in any way!

This is one of the community work which I have been involved in but this is not the only one. More reports will follow.

As I have said many times before, I am not just a medico. I am also a passionate and proud community member. Life becomes much more fulfilling and interesting if we are able to give something back to the community of which we are a part. This is my guiding principle! 

Some examples of my work are here.>>>>>http://yadusingh.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/community-workwhat-i-have-done-so-far/

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/11th April, 2011

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

www.twitter.com/dryadusingh