“When I reached my son’s school, I saw the principal and a teacher watching a YouTube video whilst trying to re-tie my son’s patka, which had come off. My heart melted to see so much love for the Sikh turban” – Amarpreet Singh, whose 5-year-old son studies at a Christian school in a Melbourne suburb.
MELBOURNE (Australia): United Sikhs organization and the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Craigeburn honoured on Sunday the principal and a teacher from the Mother of God Christian school in the Ardeer suburb of Melbourne. They were honoured for showing their Christian spirit on March 24 when they re-tied five-year-old Mansage Singh’s patka, a head wear worn by Sikh children.
“Hello Amar, I am sorry that your son’s turban came off this morning. I did my best re-tying it back by watching many YouTube videos but am missing on the finishing touch. I am just wondering if you can come and tie his turban accordingly. We are really sorry. The boy who took his turban off is autistic. We explained to him why he must not touch the turban again, but he did it by accident,” the principal of the Mother of God School said in a telephone call to Mansage Singh’s father, Amapreet Singh.
“What we did at school with Mansage was to look after him and make him feel safe. We look after each other. We are very honoured to be given this award today,” said Broadfoot.
“I feel very humbled to be here in front of so many people for doing such a small thing. It is something we would do every day with all the children to provide them with respect and care because we are a Catholic school for all people,” said Buckley.
“Sikhs are often in the news for turban removal or discrimination but this school principal and teacher has set an example and showed that humanity is alive, when they re-tied a Sikh student’s patka. The Australian Sikh community is very honoured by their action,” said Gurdeep Singh, President of the Craigeburn Gurdwara, one of the largest gurdwaras in Melbourne.
“The Mother of God School has set the standard for all schools to follow and shown that a child’s education at a school should not be at the expense of a right to practice his or her faith,” said Gurvinder Singh, United Sikhs Director, Melbourne.
“We are very humbled and very proud to know that our son is being educated in a school that respects the beliefs of every culture and religion and it takes care to protect the belief of all students,” said Amarpreet Singh.
“All the school kids have to wear sun hats when they go outside to play but since my son ties a patka he was given an option to not wear the hat. The principal asked our permission for the school logo to be printed on Mansage’s patka,” he added.
Similar case with my son in his school in Sydney. But no one touched or untied my son’s patka rather it was during swimming lessons his class teacher came forward and happily asked if I can show her how to tie patka. I can’t believe she can tie patka much better than me. It works very well for those few days. I am grateful to his teachers and the school overall.