One effective way to immerse oneself into a new community is through volunteering.
Nitesh Chaudhary took that concept to heart when he arrived in the Comox Valley as an international student in 2018.
Chaudhary quickly endeared himself to other students at North Island College by offering some cultural insight.
In 2018, Chaudhary organized a Path Shai Shukhmani Sahib - a Sikh prayer event - attended by almost 300 participants. He managed to telecast the event live in India for free, and offered food for all the participants for free. He organized the event to bring together people from different cultures and religions.
“I organized this event because there is no temple for international students in the town. I thought, ‘why not create that atmosphere in town so that students do not feel that they are different?’ In this event we offer free food for everyone, free entry and the best part was that we served more than 700 people, including international students, the local community and homeless people. After this successful event, we did this for regular three years and this kind of event helped everyone to share their culture and traditions.”
His volunteerism at North Island College has left its mark on students and staff alike. Organizing different events such as Vaskhi Festival, Diwali Festival, and North Island Got Talent 2018, as well as offering free counselling are all his initiative to better the community.
In 2020 he also organized a farmer protest car rally in the Comox Valley, in support of Indian farmers, and to bring awareness of the plight of farmers in that part of the world.
Chaudhary credits his volunteering spirit to his upbringing.
“I learned from my dad to help others, and in our Sikh religion, our gurus (lord) always say to feed and help others, so that’s what I did. My inspiration is from my dad.
“It’s my pleasure and I personally want to thank everyone for all the support and love”.
For all he did in his time in the Valley, Nitesh Chaudhary has been selected as the 2022 Community Volunteer Local Hero.