Sikh Volunteers Australia - Givemas Day Eight
Victorian based Sikh Volunteers Australia is a non-profit volunteer organisation focused on supporting communities by providing free vegetarian meals to the disadvantaged and those in need.
KOS recently had the opportunity to chat to Manpreet Singh, vice-president of Sikh Volunteers about his organisation’s work helping vulnerable communities while embracing and promoting diversity.
Hi Manpreet! Thanks so much for talking with us. Would you be able to tell us how you went about founding ‘Sikh Volunteers’ from the ground up all those years ago?
The start-up of Sikh Volunteers Australia (SVA) happened in 2014. The reason was purely to serve the community and give back to the society we are living in. A group of friends developed the idea, all first-generation migrants, on how we could help the community in general and make a positive impact with our limited resources.
It doesn’t take us long to look back to our history and get inspired by it. So we picked up the concept of ‘Share All’, one of the founding principles of Sikhism, to get developed into a form of organisation. From 2014 to 2017, the group only did volunteer services with other not-for-profit organisations, and in 2017 SVA started its free food van, getting inspired by another concept of Sikhism called ‘Langer’.
Sikh Volunteers have achieved so much since its inception - including providing food for those affected by the 2020 Bushfires, the 2021 NSW floods and those in public housing facing hard lockdowns. What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced to be able to achieve these accomplishments?
See, I believe managing an organisation in its purest form while always remaining humble is the biggest challenge. Once a group or an organisation gets the honour for its work and gets well connected. The most important thing is for that group, particularly for the people leading, it becomes remaining true to the path of service, humbleness and considering themselves servants of the community and nothing else.
For this, they need to constantly remind themselves that knowingly or unknowingly, we shouldn’t let the evil of pride enter into our lives, and this is the biggest ongoing challenge.
Are there any moments that stand out to you that have inspired you to keep doing what you’re doing despite these challenges?
There are many but they are personal and constantly remind me that the very existence of life and any being is the Will of the Lord and whatever is happening is also his Will. I am a mere instrument. The music the whole world is listening to is composed and played by the Lord, I am just an instrument nothing else. The more I will remain humble, the better the music will become that’s it.
Volunteers preparing food for their food drive
Sikh Volunteers’ key values are to ‘embrace diversity and recognise the whole human race as one… regardless of race, colour, religion and origin of country.’ In what ways have you been able to put these values into action?
Well there is a verse in Sikh religion that goes like this "Na Ko Bairi Nahi Begana, Sagal Sang Hamko Ban Ayi.” It means “None is our Enemy, none is a Stranger to us. We are in accord with One and All”. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang (Page) 1275.
When it comes to working with or for Sikh Volunteers Australia, the organisation doesn’t consider anyone’s race, colour, religion, origin of country, gender or caste. The only thing SVA is interested in is legal residency, working rights and their reason to work with the organisation. If a person successfully demonstrates that he or she wants to serve humanity, that’s it, we don’t want to know anything else.
Similarly when it comes to service recipients, the organisation does not judge at all. If a person is asking for help, then this is a good enough reason for us to provide. Firstly because all SVA volunteers (including me) are servants of society, secondly the composer of music (the Lord) does not judge when it comes to giving so we the instruments will do that.
Have you seen any impact firsthand that shows you have inspired the communities you help to embrace these values too?
Well, it's a bit hard for me to explain so I am sharing a few messages we have received from service recipients and I believe they are 100 times better than my words.
“Please accept our heartfelt thanks and congratulations on the wonderful work you are doing to support the community during these difficult times. We know this beautiful aspect of your faith continues throughout the year, every year and reaches an extraordinary number of people. However, with so many experiencing hardship as a direct result or unintended consequence of COVID-19, we know how particularly significant and welcome this support must be at this moment. Please take good care of yourselves. Thinking of you and sending our very best regards.”
- AFP Community Liaison Team, Melbourne
“Thank you so much for your incredible service within the lockdown. You are doing an amazing job to help us overcome this burden. I just wanted to say that me and my family appreciate it so much… all the meals are made clearly with love, tasty, warm, fresh, good size, healthy. My kids love it so much. Please say thanks to your lovely chef for quality cooking.”
- Anonymous
“We want to say another big thank you for the dinner. It is delicious and helps us so much both financially and from a time perspective. Two of us are surviving on one part time casual income… and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
- Anonymous
Volunteers preparing food
You’ve managed to fundraise $600,000 for a new kitchen which is very exciting. How is this project going and do ‘Sikh Volunteers’ have any other upcoming projects or plans to expand their reach?
The people of Australia are very generous and they have donated in abundance for the kitchen facility SVA is building in Cranbourne. Once functioning, this kitchen facility can produce 10000 meals a day.
At the moment, we are waiting for building permits from the City of Casey Council and once received the construction will commence. Sikh Volunteers Australia believes and abides to the bottom up approach. Based on recent surveys we have conducted in the community, we have analysed needs and had an ongoing discussion with the core community regarding future projects. It will be one thing at a time however and right now it is the construction of a kitchen facility.
Are there any impactful ways our readers can get involved in supporting ‘Sikh Volunteers’?
SVA is a self funded community organisation. We are always in need of volunteers and resources. On behalf of Sikh Volunteers Australia, I request that everyone contribute to this noble cause of serving humanity in whichever way you can. If you live close by to the sites where the organisation is serving and can spare a few hours then please come and help as a volunteer, otherwise you may participate in organisation surveys, spread the information about organisation’s services and may refer them to someone in need.
Everything helps, every effort counts. Thank you.
WORDS: JOANNE FONG
PHOTOGRAPHY: SIKH VOLUNTEERS AUSTRALIA
WORDS: JOANNE FONG PHOTOGRAPHY: SIKH VOLUNTEERS AUSTRALIA
