Sikhcess “Feed the Homeless” Campaign

March 3rd, 2007 by admin

A group of dedicated Indo-Canadians under the guidance of Nikki Bachu and Jatinder Bhogal prepared over 2,000 food and drink packages for the unfortunate ones living on the streets in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside last weekend - and Burnaby politicians Mayor Derek Corrigan, MP Peter Julian, MLA Raj Chouhan and Councillor Sav Dhaliwal decided to pitch in too.

The first team of volunteers assembled by Nikki Bachu arrived at Burnaby’s Ramgharia Sikh Temple at 8 a.m. to cook two huge pots of vegetable curry. More volunteers arrived in the afternoon to assist in the preparation of the food wraps and packages. The 20-strong group finished preparing the packages at 6 p.m. and these were then loaded onto to the truck ready to be delivered to the homeless in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The second team of volunteers assembled by Jatinder Bhogal were waiting in Vancouver to receive the packages for distribution. The response was really amazing at downtown Eastside. Most of the homeless were so pleased that they shook hands with the volunteers and hugged them. A few were so emotional that they wanted to make a speech to thanks the Sikh community while the volunteers were recording the event on their video camera. The volunteers said it was a moving experience that they found to be very humbling. They did not distribute religious material or deliver any religious sermons. All they did was “sewa” (service) fro the bottom of their hearts.

Indeed, all the food and drinks were donated by people who didn’t want their names mentioned.

The next event is slated for mid-April and if anyone wants to donate water, fruit, food (cookies), etc., they should contact Nikki Bachu at (604) 649-1490. No financial donations are accepted.

An organizer said: ” Events like these give the Sikh community a huge boost, enhancing their image as a community that believes in giving to the needy. We are basically following instructions of Guru Nanak. We hope it will motivate others to give generously to the poor and needy, regardless of their background and history. We pray that we continue to serve the poor to the best of our abilities. We will not neglect or forget them.”

Bhogal, the founder of Sikhcess.com, is encouraging Sikhs in other cities to follow the trend of “langar de sewa.”

He said: “We hope to motivate Sikhs around the globe to give food and drinks to the people that most need it as initiated by our Gurus, and we’ve had a tremendous response.”

Source: Voice Newspaper (www.voiceonline.com)

Also Visit: Sikhcess “Feed the Homeless” Campaign homepage (www.sikhcess.com/feed.html)

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