Highlights
- Members of Sikh Volunteers Australia (SVA) drove hundreds of kilometres to help the flood-ravaged community of Lismore and surrounding areas
- The SVA has previously served communities during the Australian bushfires of 2020 and COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns
- 'With our selfless service, we want to deliver a message of harmony in line with our Sikh principles,' said volunteer Jaswinder Singh
The recent floods in NSW and Queensland forced many Australians to evacuate their homes.
With grief-stricken families facing a laborious flood recovery effort, members of the SVA drove hundreds of kilometres to aid the affected community of Lismore, NSW.
Jaswinder Singh, who works as a volunteer with SVA, told SBS Punjabi it "shook his heart" to see what the disastrous floods had left behind.
Mr Singh, along with three other volunteers, packed into a van to serve hearty meals to displaced residents.
“We reached Lismore after an almost 34-hour journey and we were shocked to see the amount of damage that the floods had left behind," he told SBS Punjabi.
Members of Sikh Volunteers Australia drove 34 hours to aid Lismore flood victims. Source: Supplied by Mr Singh
“Our team at SVA has served communities during the Australian bushfires of 2020, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, but we had not encountered such heartbreaking scenes of disaster.”
Mr Singh said that while most of the direct routes to their destination were closed due to the floods, they were able to make it thanks to what he called "miraculous help".
“We began our journey to Lismore from Melbourne around 6 am on Monday morning and after a continuous drive of 22 hours we stopped at the First Gurdwara of Australia in Woolgoolga to cook the food and have a bit of rest.
“After resuming our journey we realised that the Pacific Highway was flooded, and we wouldn’t be able to cut through Grafton as it was also underwater.
Members of Sikh Volunteers Australia at the First Gurdwara of Australia in Woolgoolga. Source: Supplied by Mr Singh
“Luckily, a local highway patrol officer stopped us and upon understanding what we were doing there, he made a few calls and escorted us to Lismore safely through some inner roads, which was no less than a miracle for us.”
Mr Singh and his fellow volunteers have been serving up almost 1,500 meals every day.
He said the initiative isn't about religion, but delivering a message of harmony that's in line with their Sikh principles.
“Apart from Lismore, we learned about two other coastal regions, Woodburn and Evans Head, that have been adversely affected by the floods, which are about 40km from where we were located.”
“Even though we have received multiple flood warnings in and around Lismore, we’ll still try to reach out and provide help to all those affected areas and deliver a message of love, peace, equality and service to humanity."
Click on the player at the top of the page to listen to Mr Singh's full interview in Punjabi.
