Amar Singh On Kindness Led Enterprises Building Multicultural Acceptance
Amar Singh believes helping others should not be limited by religion, language or cultural background.
Amar founded a charity after experiencing racial slurs and insults because of his Sikh turban and beard. He wanted to show people they didn’t need to be afraid and began helping struggling Australians.
Every week, Turbans 4 Australia package and distribute up to 450 food and grocery hampers to people experiencing food insecurity in Western Sydney.
They also raise awareness and funds for important causes while promoting multiculturalism and religious tolerance. But the organization is best known around Australia since its founding in 2015 for transporting emergency goods to those in need.
Amar discusses charity based initiatives building connections between diverse communities and emerging opportunities for migrants and refugees to create long lasting social change.
Highlights from the interview (listen to the podcast for full details)
[Tom Allen] - To start off, could you please share a bit about your background and what led to your work in social impact?
[Amar Singh] - I arrived in Australia as a 15-year-old back in 1998. I went to high school here than went on to do other studies. There was always this one little pain I had in (the) back of my heart; there was something we needed to do about fitting into society and addressing the societal expectations of a migrant person from an ethnic background and how we can feel at home. Every migrant will attest to this, during the first couple of years, you're always just comparing back to the country you came from. You will say, "hey, this was better there,” and, “this is better here." You still have a strong bond with your home, and somewhere there exists this guilt that you don't let go of your home. But then eventually you roll over and think, "look, this is life. Now I'm settled, this is my home, and this is where I'm going to be." That's when you really start to feel the difference, when people still don't treat you the way they should as they do with everyone else. That kicked off a few racist encounters I had, and I wanted to change the story and the narrative to say, "hey, you can't judge a book by its cover." My son, who's 10 now, might grow up to be a practicing Sikh and have a beard and turban, but he's born right here in Sydney. What is it going to be like for him? People are going to say, "go back home." But this is his home. It was a very personal story for me, but I wanted to change it through charity and volunteer work.
As the founder and CEO of Turbans 4 Australia, can you please share a bit more about this charity, its purpose, and the impact it's generating?
Turbans 4 Australia started as a very small charity doing aid relief. We were getting involved in small events just to volunteer, events like City to Serve or Cancer Council Relay for Life. Then we heard about the drought in New South Wales back in 2015. I thought, "something has got to be done about this," so that's when we started and packed our first van of groceries that we took out to Dubbo. It was an eye opener, I realised, "oh my God, these people really do struggle." Everything we take for granted is a struggle for them. I remembered a chap once from Salvos (Salvation Army) shared a story, where he said, “it's scary that people take everything for granted, because when we leave a bag of goodies at a farmer's place, they don't knock it back. It's just a silent code." He also told me, "I've never seen kids being so excited about a toothbrush." In the metropolitan areas, we walk past and don't pay attention to a toothbrush, 80 cents or a dollar maybe. But that's the cost of happiness in regional areas, so that's what really got us thinking about doing something different and seeing how we as city dwellers can help regional Australians. They do really suffer in those calamities. Then we went on to do our next project, which was delivering hay out to Coonamble for the animals. It was to help the farmers. When you go on the ground, you get to hear the stories from people. You realise there is something you can do.
We had to fundraise, get the trucks together, look at what hay they needed and what kind (because there are different kinds of hay). Finally, we worked out that process and set up Farm Day, where we took about seven trucks of hay to a lot of the small farmers who were rescuing animals, had hobby farms and other things. It was just people generally struggling. When we got there, the best experience was we had a couple of people from our community that had just recently arrived. They said, "we'll come for a drive," and a very powerful thing one of the guys said was, "oh, I thought Australians were racist." These people were receiving us with open arms in a town 800 kilometres away from Sydney. I said, "no, they're not." There are idiots in every community, including my own, but people generally want to shake your hand when you extend it. We'll smile back once you smile.
That's what this exercise is about. It's a two-way exercise where we're educating the mainstream population about ethnic communities and migrant communities like ours, but also people from our own communities. We want to just say, "Australia is not a racist country. Australia is a place to be, a country you can call home."
Because, if that was not the case, and they didn't want you here, they wouldn't allow you to come here.
There are some issues we need to iron out in our society, and with time the blow or the impact will lesson. We just need to work towards that goal.
Your work has been recognised by a range of awards, and you recently received the Australian of the Year Local Hero award. Congratulations on this recognition.
It was a huge surprise even to be the finalist in New South Wales, I was over the moon. I thought, "wow, I'm a finalist." Out of the whole state, I was one of the four people that somebody thought was worthy of being a finalist. Then I won the state award, and then I went on to win the National Award on Australia Day. It is a dream come true. I didn't even know what the dream was until I got nominated and through the process! I then realised, "wow, this is so big." You don't understand that once you win the state one, then you go into the national one, so it was a huge honour coming from a person who got their citizenship back in the 2000’s to now being at that ceremony. I was welcoming other new Australians into the country with the Prime Minister, the ADF and the Governor General, and it was absolutely a dream come true. It was like being a kid in a candy shop!
As an AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker, tell us more about what you've learned in this program and what you've gained from the support that you've received?
As a small charity you're trying to grow and expand your wings (constantly), because this started as a passion, and I clearly had no idea we were going to end up one day being Australians of the Year. Being all over media I never dreamt of. Getting this grant and pats on the back along the way is a huge boost to your confidence and your existence, because you think, "wow, people actually appreciate what we do," for them to recognise us. I remember going into the AMP, I got called into the pitch day and I brought displays with me of a food hamper. That's what the pitch was to say; we needed funding to be able to transport goods out to regional areas, because you can pick up one litre of milk, but if it's one ton of milk, you can't pick it up, you need a truck. That really showed people the extent of what we do, the capacity and the volume. But also, we mingled with so many like-minded people there, and were able to (you could say) let our hair down for the day, learn from others and go, "wow, this is what's working for the other charity, this is what's working for us," and basically just network. It was great to be part of that.
What actionable steps and key learnings can you share with other change makers who are looking to grow their impact?
One of the key things I always recommend is to follow your heart and passion.
Just because it's working for another group or charity doesn't mean it's going to work for you.
What your vision and project are is unique to you, because remember, you are the one that thought of doing it. You must, in your own mind and own way, convince yourself that this is doable.
For example, the hay rolls we did… I never knew what hay was, how to buy it, or what hay we needed, but I wanted help. Then, I got researching. For me, it's very simple.
If you go to the grassroots, talk to the people, talk to the people you're helping and talk to others who are helping them, that's how you best find out what needs to be done. There's no point going on Google and searching, "what cows eat." You must talk to a farmer, a supplier and then marry the two up. For me, that practical exercise of learning from people in the trade, seeking genuine guidance from others and not being ashamed to ask questions is crucial.
In the refugee and migrant space, what challenges and opportunities do you see to tackle some of these problems?
On the ground is very different. I thought coming out of COVID lockdowns, we were just going to go back to normal life. But it seems like cost of living has dealt another blow to all of us, and many people who never asked for help are asking for help now. The other issue I see is how people can deal with this and looking for the best way is to get out of this situation. But in terms of the migrant experience, I want to take you back. When we first fled to this country, we were committed in a lot of things, trying to make a life for ourselves, trying to finish study, or trying to find the right job to pay the bills. For me, at one stage, it came to the point where I had to make peace and decide I was going to put my business and personal growth on hold to follow my passion. That's the hardest thing to do. I'm only tip of the iceberg.
When it comes to releasing the skills, manpower and attributes we have in the migrant communities, it depends on people breaking away from that vicious cycle of weekly bills and other things in life, so they get to say, "I'm going to follow my passion."
But for the second-generation migrants, you will see that happen. I see it happening in our community. A lot of young kids are getting a job in what they're passionate about, not what pays the most dollars. Instead of thinking a job is going to get them to be able to put down a deposit for a house, buy a new car, or pay for their kids, they are following those passion roles, and it's good for them.
What other inspiring projects or initiatives have you come across recently, that are creating some great positive social or environmental change?
In our food program now, having the charity logistics and the trucks we have, it's a huge new growth for our charity. Because we've always been transporting stuff out to regional communities, it was only fair the national growth progression was for us to have our own vehicles, where we can pick up stuff, rescue products that might be going to landfill, repurpose them, and send it out to communities in need. But for us, it's been great in many ways. I wouldn't say there are many challenges apart from the usual, which is funding and trying to find the money to do the things you want to do. But of course, whenever I ring a person, be it another charity, I've had the most amazing experiences, because that's how we work. When we go to some of these regional towns, we don't just go there and say, "mate, move away. We are here. We're going to take over the town." We find local partners who know their community, who know what's needed, and then we hand over our goods to them to say, "hey, you need to distribute this locally." In my journey, I have come across so many wonderful, kind, compassionate organisations and human beings who are ready to help, and that's been our core strength. We are counting on that human skill as the soul of our whole mission.
To finish off then, what books, resources or podcasts would you recommend to our listeners?
I'd say everyone should listen to Impact Boom! But I do personally believe in listening to a lot of positive stuff in your life. Be it reading, listening, or watching online videos, if you're positive, if you're happy inside, you will look at the world in a different way. Sometimes the music you listen to in the morning shapes your day. If you listen to heavy metal, you become in a rush. If you listen to something calm and soothing, you will think, "let's just take it easy. Let's not get mad on the road just because somebody cut me off!" For me, it's about seeing what I can use immediately from that listening and reading.
I hardly get time to sit down and read books. I would love to, but I instead listen to a lot of social influences who are talking about positivity and how we can change the world. I take away messages from them, even though they might be talking about something slightly off topic. But that's the moment it can tickle your mind and give you the Eureka moment, where you realise, "I can actually do this in a different way." For me, learning and getting my energy means different things at different times. Media has been an incredible part of my journey as well, because if it wasn't for the media, be it from mainstream to podcast or online reading, a lot of people wouldn't know our story and we wouldn't be able to share our passion. Media has a huge part to play in terms of how we can shape society.
I just have a simple motto in life; it's either you win, or you learn, you don't lose. No matter what, even if you get something wrong, you're going to learn from that.
You can’t say, "I lost and I'm going to give up today." I want everyone to try take ownership of their communities. Get involved in anything you can with the time that you have, just volunteer, and make the world a better place.
