Langar in World News

During the last three four years Langar has figured in world news many a times. For example, when Langar week was celebrated in 11 countries, people from different countries tasted Langar and appreciated its important. The concept of International Langar Week, initiated by the Sikh Press Association (Sikh PA) in London, was taken up by several Sikh organizations, including Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which organized Langars to promote the values of service and brotherhood. When an interfaith lunch was organized at Jama Masjid, where Sikhs and Muslims sat together to share Langar, it was really a scene of universal brotherhood, which motive was given by Guru Nanak. Langar news hit the social media when Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, Dubai entered the Guinness World Records for serving continental breakfast titled ‘Breakfast for Diversity 600 persons from 101 countries. It came into news whenever there was a natural calamity, terrorist attack or people were affected by warfare, anywhere in the world, as the Sikhs reached many such places where people were in need of food, clothes and other necessities for their

help. The World was surprised when Langar was provided by them to Rohingya Refugees when they were in shelters at Teknaf, the southernmost town of Bangladesh. There was nobody to help 30000 Refugees who were dying of hunger. The Sikhs only reached to save them from hunger and other troubles. Recently, when shutdown was declared in USA, the Sikh community in San Antonio, Texas offered Langar to fellow American Govt. employees affected by the ongoing shutdown that had left thousands without pay.

Langar from Gurdwaras to Needy People

During the last few years, a new practice has started whereby Langar is sent to needy people outside the Gurdwara. When floods came in Kashmir, truckloads of Langar were sent from Amritsar to help the Kashmiri People. Similarly, Langar has been sent from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara many times to the people who assemble at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, irrespective of their religious, social or political affinity. These gestures from historical Gurdwaras have motivated many Sikh individuals and newly made organizations to take the Langar to needy people where ever they are. Some illustrative details in the following paragraph will show the growing popularity of this new trend. To start with individual efforts for providing Langar to the needy people, mentioned may be made of S. Gurmeet Singh of Patna. He is known for providing Langar by spending from his pocket for those who stay at Patna Medical Hospital as attendants for the patients. He has been serving food for these people for the last twenty years. He not only provides food to the hungry, but also helps the people by getting them expansive medicine and paying for the tests, scan and chemotherapy for Cancer patient. He is also a blood donor. This spirit of service arises from his belief in Sikh teaching, whereby Langar is prepared by ones owned hands and then served to the hungry people by expressing gratitude to God who enables us to render such a service.

Delhi Langar Sewa Society

Gurmeet Singh is not the only Sikh in the country who does it, there are many others who are performing this kind of sewa in one or the other way. In Delhi also, some volunteers had been serving langar to a large number of people who visit All India Institute of Medical Sciences from different parts of the country these include patients, their relatives and attendants who wait for hours and days during the treatment of their patients. The food items available near around are in abdicate and expensive. Considering their miserable position, this kind of service was started by volunteer Sikhs many years ago. In the beginning, this sewa was done on one or two days in a week, but when it was noticed that the number of needy hungry people was big, the Delhi Langar Sewa Society made it an everyday affair and now the Langar is being served by them on all the days. A number of volunteers joined hand with this society by providing food items or donation for this noble cause.

Sarabjeet Singh Shimla

S. Sarabjeet Singh of Shimla is another person who has distinguished himself in this regard. Popularly known as Bobby Vela (Vela in Punjabi means a person who does not do any work), he is neither a leader nor an educated person, but still is one of the most popular figures of Himachal Pradesh. One can see him driving a funeral van ferrying dead bodies, or organising a blood donation camp. He can be seen at the Regional cancer hospital feeding patients and their attendants free of cost. A businessman by profession, he leads these services with the help of some like-minded people. He had a feeling of serving humanity as a gursikh right from his childhood. When the Gurdwara of his area used to organise blood donation camp, he was always serving with them as a volunteer. But, when, after some years the Gurdwara stopped conducting such camps, he could not resist his spirit of service and decided to continue these camps. To quote him “People from all over the state come to Shimla, the capital city, for treatment. There is always a shortage of blood in main hospitals in Shimla – Indira Gandhi Medical College and Kamala Nehru hospital. So I felt the need to continue the blood donation camps to help out these patients, and started organising similar blood donation camps on my own,” he told The Logical Indian.
He has been organising blood donation camps for the last 12 years and has collected 30,000 units of blood, which is 60% of the total blood collection of Himachal Pradesh. He says that all the blood banks in the state have his contact number and he is available at any time. Sarabjeet Singh organises blood donation camps in Kamala Nehru hospital and Indira Gandhi hospital every Sunday. All hospitals in Shimla call him in case of emergency.
Sarabjeet Singh started his free funeral service van 10 years back. He was able to collect Rs 3 lakh from various people and bought a van which offers free funeral service. He has ferried 5,000 dead bodies to date. He drives the van himself and attends every single call even at odd hours. He has even ferried unclaimed dead bodies lying at hospital mortuaries.
“Donate eyes before dying. My mother donated it,” he has written on his funeral van for encouraging people for organ donation.
Sarabjeet still remembers an experience he had while transporting the dead body of a 9-year-old girl. He says that that incident made him realise the importance of his job and strengthened his passion to serve the society.

Almighty Blessings

In 2014, Sarabjeet Singh started an NGO called Almighty Blessings and established free canteens for patients and their attendants under its banner. He runs two free canteens adjacent to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Kamala Nehru hospital. “People really cry for money and food when they come here. It really touched my heart and I decided to help them,” he added. These canteens serve tea, biscuits, soups, porridge, and dal-chawal to patients free of cost.
Apart from running two free canteens for poor patients, Singh also runs 22 Roti Banks across the state to collect chapati and distribute them to poor patients. He has established roti banks in front of schools and residential areas. Volunteers donate chapatis and he distributes them to the needy. Sarabjeet makes out his living by running a small shoe business. His wife and two sons extend their full support for all his philanthropic ventures. “Initially I found funds all by myself. Now, I get donations from generous people. People often offer food during birth or marriage anniversaries for feeding poor patients,” he said. Sarabjeet Singh now plans to build a free shelter for patients and their attendants. He makes use of social media to encourage people to join his services. He can be contacted through his facebook page or his mobile number: +91 9418061000.

Sikhs doing this Service in Foreign Countries

Even in foreign countries, a good numbers of Sikhs are doing such a service following the trio principles of Kirat Karna, Naam Japna and Vand Chhakna. Tajinderpal Singh presently living in Australia is a hard working A.C. mechanic and also a driver. However, when he finishes his shift as a driver he goes to northern Darwin where he feeds the poor and homeless, giving them a taste of Indian cuisine which includes chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry cooked especially for them. He prepares and carries 30 kg of Indian food in his van which has a sign that says ‘Free Indian food for hungry and needy people, Provide Sikh family.’ His son Navdeep helps him in cooking and distributing the meals, by reaching out to the hungry without fail, irrespective of their class and race. By doing so, Tejinder presents to the world, the role model of a true Gursikh and he along with his son inspire the people to follow the righteous path shown by our Gurus.

Food Banks

Certain individuals desiring to do such a service have formed organisations. Such organisation do not collect Langar from Gurdwaras for further distribution, rather they have developed their own warehouses for storage and distribution depots for further distribution to the needy and deserving people. The charitable organizations which they have made for this purpose are called ‘Food Banks’. The world’s first food bank was established in the US in 1967, and since then many thousands have been set up all over the world. Whereas in North-America and Australia food banks usually operate on the “warehouse” model, Outside North America and Australia, the “front line” model is often found. Such food banks give out most or all of their food directly to the end users. For both models, the largest sources of food include for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have excess food that they cannot sell. Some food banks receive a substantial proportion of their food from individual donors, including their volunteers. After the food is collected, sorted, and reviewed for quality, these food banks distribute it to non-profit community or government agencies, including food pantries, food closets, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, orphanages, and schools. As the Sikhs consider service to mankind their supreme duty, a number of individuals and Sikh organizations have engaged themselves in this way of service. They believe in our Sanstha’s slogan –

When in the world there is Guru Nanak’s Langar,
How can anyone die of hunger ?

Langar Organisations in U.K.

In Europe, which until recently had little need for food banks due to extensive welfare systems, their numbers grew rapidly after the global increase in the price of food which began in late-2006, and especially after the financial crisis of 2007–08 began to worsen economic conditions for those on low incomes. Thereafter, many organisations came up in different parts of Europe, especially in U.K., which helped the hungry by providing food to them

Midland Langar Seva Society and Kirpa Food Bank, UK

The Midland Langar Seva Society is a food relief organization in Birmingham UK. It has been selflessly serving Langar and other help to homeless and providing food and hunger relief to those that are in need of it. This society was started in 2003 and now is serving through its teams across U.K. and even in India. It was started by two friends, namely S. Randhir Singh and Paramjit Singh. The food is donated by the volunteers. All the volunteers work in a team. For the purpose delivery of langar, they have a Langar bus which is driven to the locations where the needy people resides and hot and nutritious foods are supplied to the hungry people at their place. They not only provide foods, but, a whole range of other support including; sleeping bags, blankets, hats, gloves and scarves, toiletries, underwear’s and this is throughout the year and not just at Christmas time. However, on the Christmas day in 2018, the organization made a news by serving Langar to the homeless people by fixing a Langar stall at New Street Railway Station where more than 200 homeless people had food.

Support has been provided for pregnant homeless women who have had nothing, but the clothes on their backs. They have managed to get baby equipment and baby clothes as well as signposting them for accommodation. The contact number of organisation is 07860109551. Another organisation based at Wolverhampton is Kirpa Food Bank which is dedicated to feed the homeless, the victims of disasters and those in need of this area. S. Dalbir Singh Pangli is the main volunteer of this organisation. He donates a significant amount of his personal time, attending soup kitchens which involve cooking, preparing food and then distributing the food to the homeless and the disadvantaged members of the society. Mr. Dalbir Singh Pangli also makes financial donations to the charity which of course the charity requires. The contact details of this organisation are Email: info@kirpafoodbank. com, Phone No. 07423017171.

Sikh Welfare and Awareness Team (SWAT)

There are a number of other organisations in U.K. which are known as Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchens (e.g. at Doncaster and Edinburgh). The two Sikh organizations, the bed Fort Langar project and Sikh Welfare and awareness team (SWAT) in London are also taking care of the need of such people. SWAT organisation, based in West London was founded in 2008 with a view to transform the life of disadvantaged people of Sikh community by focussing on projects which make a difference to people’s lives and improve their prospects. Their projects include helping the homeless, providing healthcare and food to the hungry. In 2017, they made ambulance, a part of their healthcare project. All these projects are financed with the help and cooperation of others and also by organising such events as charity walks and runs. For example their volunteers took part in the Annual Nishkam SWAT 26 miles charity walk and raised 40K to purchase the said ambulance. There is another project started in 2014 whereby elder people are taken care of. The volunteers visit care homes and spend time with the elderly people in talking, listening and reminiscing about their fond memories, providing thereby the emotional support to them.

In addition to contributing to the communities they live in, there are certain charities such as United Sikhs which also contribute to humanitarian efforts in different parts of the world as needed. Khalsa Aid, a UK based Sikh charity, which has provided disaster relief in Albania, Turkey, Somalia and Pakistan, made the headlines in 2014 when British Sikhs helped the Thames Valley and Somerset flood victims by delivering sand bags, food and medical supplies to those affected. It is heartening to note that during this year the two langar organisations, the Midland Langar Sewa Society and Langar Aid have been honoured with the Queens’ award for Voluntary service. This award is given to such volunteer groups across the country who do outstanding works for their community.

Langar Organisations in USA

In USA also, Sikh organisations have become the most notable food givers to the homeless and hungry people. In Los Angeles, the Khalsa Food Pantry and Khalsa Peace Corps provide meals to the destitute, while the Sikh cess project provides food and clothing to the homeless in a number of local communities across the US. Sikh cess is a worldwide community service based organization dedicated to multiple areas like community development, housing and homelessness, poverty and environment. This organization was founded by a group of Sikhs in Burnaby led by S. Jatinder Singh. Based on the basic Sikh principles of sharing, inclusiveness, community, and public service, It works with thousands of volunteers across the globe. Sikh cess connects people of all ages who share a common desire to help make a difference. Although its headquarter at PO Box 251536, West Bloomfield, MI 48325, USA, it has its coordinators in various countries like UK, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. The executive team consist of Mr Amit Singh, Executive Director, Mr Kevin Singh, Director of Operations, Ms Sandy Sangha, Director of Communications, Mr Sumeet Singh, Director of Development, Mr Harminder Singh, Director of Accounting and Finance and Ms Manmeet Kaur, Director of Project Scheduling. Its contact number is +1248-990-1245.

Another organization in USA known for this kind of service is Sewa Truck Foundation based at 2815 Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax, Virginia 22031. This foundation was established in 2015 by Sonny Kakkar, a business tycoon (Founder and CEO Sewa Tec). It is a 501 (C) (3) non profit organization, which has initiated a venture in the Washington DC Metro Area whereby a fully licensed Food Truck with a commercially integrated kitchen serves hot, nutritious meals to the needy people. They focus their operations mainly on children and veterans. The organization can be contacted on email info@sevatruck.org and contact nos. 5717661300 and 5717661301.

Sewa Food Bank of Canada

So far Canada is concerned, here also we have a number of such organisations which are serving the people by giving them food and other necessities. Sewa Food Bank is quite well known. Sikhs Serving Canada is a registered not for profit charitable organisation with a mission to positively impact local communities by acting on the basis of Sikh principles of Chardikla (eternal optimism), Sewa (selfless service) and Sarbat da Bhala (welfare of all). It is an organisation which works for channelizing the strength and resources of Canadian Sikhs into various initiatives that can improve the quality of life of all Canadians. Among the various initiatives of this organisation, the most well known is the Sewa Food Bank. Sikhs Serving Canada has forged a partnership with The Mississauga Food Bank to provide a sustained supply of safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food available for distribution to low-income families. Their vision is a community where all citizens have access to an adequate and nutritious supply of food. They are working to alleviate hunger through various initiatives which will include educational initiatives and introducing/promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes. It is this partnership which has created Sewa Food Bank. Since, its opening in 2010, this Food Bank has been providing safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to low-income families living in 7 Postal Code Across Mississauga. The Bank has created a community of clients, volunteers, donors and staff. Each month they provide over 50,000 pounds of foods to almost thousand families. The Food Bank is operating from two locations in Mississauga (Wolfedale Rd and Slough St). These locations are hubs of energy and collaboration for the community. The organising committee of this food bank consists of Amarpreet Kaur Ahluwalia, Amritpal Singh Gosal, Birender Kaur Gill, Gosha Sekhon, Gurmeet Singh Ahluwalia, Inderpreet Kaur Mudhar, Kulvir Singh Gill, Manpreet Kaur Gosal, and Manraj Singh Pannu. The contact details of the organization are Address is 2832 Slough St, Mississauga, ON L4T 1G3, Canada and contact number is +1 905-361-7382.

Guru Nanak Kitchenette Sydney

Guru Nanak Kitchenette Sydney is a multinational and multi-cultural charity organization that has streams of volunteers who joined hands from different ethnic backgrounds including Indians, Australians, Nepalese, Fiji Indians, Chinese and Muslims. It is the first ever initiative in the history of Indian Australian community to promote Australian diversity through a charity organization. This initiative promotes and introduces not only Indian food and clothes to homeless people but also the culture of giving with love as part of Sikh religious teachings- ‘Sorbet ad Bhili’ which means ‘Do Good to all’. This project is a collective effort of likeminded people. This concept was developed on Guru Nanak birthday on 28th November 2012 when a group of likeminded individuals got together and decided to help those people who are suffering from appetite for want of any food for them. This group collected such youth and organisations who could act as volunteers by sparing their time and services. The organisation not only provide foods, but also clothes and bedding for the homeless people and helps the needy and vulnerable section of the society by caring specially for the senior citizens. The team of this organisation lead by Mrs. Lucky Singh and consisting of her husband S. Blair Singh, Mr. Jabir Singh, Mr. Ramjet Singh, Ruby Kauri, Miss Shakily Singh, Mrs. Kaman Data, Mrs. Dolly Bhatia, Mr. Niles Maharaja and Kantian Bramble, celebrates all Indian/Australian festivals with the homeless and needy people and spend time with them on such days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with a view to give them feelings of love and concerns. The organisation also raises funds for International students, Natural disaster and calamities and for funeral expenses for whom there is no body to spend. It also conducts a blood donation drive every year. The contact details of the organisation are Email : lsingh2k7@gmail.com, gnfks2013@gmail.com, phones: +61-434631379 and +61414262830. The discussion in the preceding paragraphs shows that Sikhs have a high sense of dedicated service to mankind. They serve the humanity in so many ways, but, Langar service has no parallel in the history of service to humanity anywhere in the world.

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