West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance

West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance (WCSYA) first started from a meeting in a Surrey basement in 1994. A group of university students met to discuss the current situation of young Sikhs. They quickly found that no real organization or group focused on the youth of the Sikh religion. There were many initiatives put forth by the Gurdwaras of the community. However, many young people found that they could not relate to the older generation’s teachings. They pondered what could be done to educate the youth about our beautiful Sikh religion and the means to go about doing it. The university students’ primary goal was to find ways to educate the youth about Sikhism in a fun and comfortable environment. With weeks and months of meetings, the students finally decided that an annual week-long camp would provide the best solution to their problem. Henceforth, WCSYA has held week-long summer camps for youth ages 10-18. 

Since 1994 WCSYA has grown from an idea to the largest Sikh Youth Organization in British Columbia. The West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance was established to provide a venue in which youth could teach the youth. So far, WCSYA has been successful in maintaining this vision with its annual summer camps. Our Sikh community needs to focus on the youth because within them are the leaders of tomorrow.