Balbir Singh

Balbir Singh, 72, was appointed member of the Lehigh County Drug and Alcohol Abuse Advisory Board in Pennsylvania. The announcement of the decision was made on Dec. 15.

“I was elated to be selected to do more work for the community. My past work in social service got recognized,’’ told Singh News India-Times. But for now, Singh doesn’t know what he is supposed to do. “Once a meeting is held I will know more about my role... about how can I help them or get help from them,’’ added Singh. The first meeting of the board was expected to be held at the end of this month.

He claims it is not a paid job but an advisory one. So what does the board do? “The federal and the state governments assign some funds. The job of the board is to see that these funds are utilized for the welfare of the drug addicts and usage of drug use is brought down,’’ said Singh.

A member is nominated to the board and not elected. The position is advertised in the newspaper. Any citizen can come forward and apply for the position. About nine commissioners in the county choose about four-five members for a term of four years. Singh did exactly that and got selected. The number of applicants, however, said Singh, is known only to the commissioners. But why did he choose drug and alcohol abuse? “There was a vacancy here so I applied,’’ said Singh.

Singh, who was a teacher in a school in Kapurthala in Punjab, came to the United States as a tourist in 1985. During his five-month stay here, he studied the American school structure. He decided that after his retirement he would come back and look for work opportunities here. He kept that promise. In 1988, he landed in New York City.

For the next five years, he worked as a temporary and a ‘substitute teacher’ in schools across the City. “I moved from school to school, two days in one school... two days in another school,’’ said Singh. Last year, Singh moved with his family to Pennsylvania. Singh claims he never considered politics as an option. “I don’t align with any party. Election means a lot of expenditure,’’ he said.

Singh’s career as a teacher started in 1952 in Kapurthala in Punjab. He holds a double masters degree. In 1959, he got an M.A. degree in education from Rajasthan University followed by an M.A. in psychology from Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, in 1964.