Always There To Help: After Pandemic, Sikhs In US Are Now Feeding BLM Protesters
Click here to find out how the Sikh community in the US is trying to feed all the people they can- those affected by the pandemic and even the protesters.
Be it riots in Delhi, bushfires in Australia or the pandemic in the US, the Sikh community all over the world is among the first ones to come forward to help.
As protests rage in the US over the killing of George Floyd, the Sikh community is again at the forefront, feeding people with langar.
Ryan Christopher Jones/The New York Times
In a gurdwara in Queens village, 30 cooks have made and served more than 145,000 free meals in just 10 weeks,The New York Times reported. They offered food to New York City hospital workers, people in poverty and anyone else in search of a hot meal.
Gurdwaras like the Sikh Center of New York, in Queens Village, are mobilising their large-scale cooking resources to meet the skyrocketing need for food aid outside the places of worship, adds the report.
Some members of the community are feeding the protesters who are marching in outrage against the killing of George Floyd and atrocities against African-Amercians.
Ryan Christopher Jones/The New York Times
¡°Where we see peaceful protest, we are going,¡± The New York Times quoted Himmat Singh, as saying. Singh is a coordinator at the World Sikh Parliament, an advocacy group providing volunteers for the Queens Village efforts. ¡°We are looking for justice. We support this,¡± he said.
We previously reported that the Sikh Centre in New York packed thousands of home-cooked meals for Americans in self-isolation. New York's Mayor office had approached the Sikh community to make the food packages that were then distributed to several federal agencies in the area.
Strict hygiene measures were taken while the food was prepared such as maintaining social distance and use of face masks and gloves.
According to Guru Sahib's command, service is in their lap whom God makes his servant. It is a great service to put yourself in the forefront to serve others, regardless of your life in this tough phase.
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"The ''Sewa'' or service provided by the Sikh volunteers is a vegetarian meal comprising of dry fruits, rice, and lentils. The meals were prepared and were packaged and loaded for delivery. TVolunteers who prepared and packaged the meal had a medical check and have been approved by physicians and health authorities," ANI quoted Himmat Singh, coordinator of the American Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (east coast) as saying.
These are just a few from the many examples where the Sikh community has selflessly come forward to help those in need at the time of emergency.
