In a bid to ‘light-up’ the lives of those living without electricity, members of the Sikh community served fresh homemade vegetarian meals to residents who were still off the grid in Sydney’s north shore, more than a week after the storm hit the state.
Volunteers from the Guru Nanak Gurudwara Turramurra Sikh Temple prepared langar (community meal) for the worshippers and also packed food in takeaway containers for those who wished to eat at home or were “hesitant” to enter the temple premises.
- Turramurra Sikh Temple distributes free meals to families affected by power outages
- Volunteers offer to deliver free meals to the affected families
- The locals send "heartfelt" messages to the temple management for their "kind" gesture
Aman Bhalla, a volunteer with the gurudwara told SBS Punjabi that the effort was made to reach out and give back to the wider community affected by the fierce storms.
“Due to the recent wild weather across the state, we wanted to reach out to those affected with a power outage and help them in any way we could. The meals were served from Wednesday until Sunday, except for on Friday, when the temple kitchen was undergoing repair.
“We understand people have been without power for over a week and eating out daily can be a challenge. As a community we wanted to give back and help anyone in need during this time,” said Ms Bhalla.
Taking the generosity a step further, the management also informed the followers via Facebook that the volunteers were “happy to deliver” the food to those who cannot make it to the gurudwara.
A snapshot of the invite posted by the Sikh temple on its Facebook page. Source: Supplied
Harbir Pal Singh Bhatia, the president of the gurudwara said community service is an integral part of Sikh philosophy and they were just doing their bit for those who were "suffering."
“Sikh religion is based on the philosophy of one God, one mankind. So when we got to know that people were suffering, we welcomed everyone to come and eat with us.
"We would also like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this possible, especially all the volunteers involved in cooking, preparing and serving," said Mr Bhatia.
The effort of the volunteers was acknowledged by locals, many of whom took to social media to thank them for their generosity.
One such message was written by Tam Wallin, a resident from St Ives who wrote, she was “grateful” that such people were part of the community.
“I just wanted to send a message to say that I drive past your temple every day and smile thinking about how grateful I am that you are part of our community.
“Your selflessness during the bushfire last year and now this equally generous act is incredible,” wrote Ms Wallin.
A snapshot of messages received by the gurudwara on its Facebook page. Source: Supplied
Volunteers from the gurudwara were previously applauded by the members of the local community when they served hot meals to the volunteer firefighters from the Hornsby Rural Fire Brigade in November last year.
The firies had just finished containing a fire in South Turramurra when they were approached by the temple volunteers who dropped by with food to thank them for their efforts.
