Highlights
- Some volunteers supplying free food to the needy during the coronavirus crisis say their charity is being "exploited"
- They feel that food meant for the elderly, sick and international students is being asked for by the "well-to-do"
- Many volunteers have cut down their services while others brush them aside as "aberrations"
Free meals and groceries are being supplied by volunteers across Australia to those who are financially or medically impacted by the coronavirus lockdown.
While the aim of these charitable workers is to support those in need, they say there is no dearth of those who call them out of their greed or laziness.
While this has led some volunteers to cut down their services, there still are some who remain undeterred and have brushed aside the "aberrations to carry on with their selfless service".
Tejinder Pal Singh of Darwin is a 2016 Northern Territory Local Hero Awardee and a finalist of the 2017 Australia’s Local Hero of the Year.
He is known for the free food he and his family provide to Darwin’s homeless once every month.
Carrying forward their family tradition, Mr Singh decided to provide a freshly cooked Indian meal every day from March 26 to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.
But this didn’t last too long and the last free meal was delivered on April 13, when Vaisakhi, a festival of high significance to the Sikhs, is celebrated.
‘Exploitation of charity hurts’
Tejinder Pal Singh with his food van that serves free meals to the homeless. Source: Supplied
While he believes that providing food to whoever reaches out to a Sikh is a religious obligation, but "exploitation of charity hurts".
“Our delivery volunteers told us that they saw eight people enjoying their drink at the address where they had gone to supply meals. Although they gave them the food, this upset us as a team because we are working for those in need and with our limited resources,” says Mr Singh.
His wife, Gurpreet Kaur says that their 'Sikh Family Food Van' project is run solely from their pocket.
“We don’t take donations, so we can only run it for needy people. For the time being, we have had to stop our daily free meals during the coronavirus lockdown but our monthly food run will continue,” she says.
Saurabh Kansal, a government employee in Darwin also had similar experiences.
“When our teammates went to deliver meals at one address, they saw those people were having a get-together at home over drinks. Our mates brought the food back because we are not working for those who can afford drinks at this difficult time,” says Mr Kansal.
He also narrated how a lady who worked full-time would call their service every day for a meal to be delivered at 6 pm.
“When we asked her if she’s in trouble, she said in a matter-of-fact way, ‘no, I’m tired by the time I get back home. By getting meals delivered from your service, I don’t have to cook’. We have stopped delivering to her now,” he adds.
‘Hoarding free groceries’
Saurabh Kansal (fourth from left) with a group of volunteers in Darwin. Source: Supplied
Ajinder Singh, from Adelaide, says he and some of his friends had volunteered at a local gurudwara (Sikh temple) to supply around 200 meals every day at the start of the lockdown.
Despite calls from those "taking advantage" of their charity, Mr Singh says that the large majority of people are "genuinely in need and his group will continue helping them."
“We can't turn a blind eye to those who need help, just because some are being greedy or lazy," he says.
"We noticed that calls for home delivery of meals began to exceed calls for picking them up from the gurudwara, which made us suspicious,” adds Mr Singh.
“We then divided ourselves into teams and each team went to 15 addresses so that we could assess the lifestyle of those who want meals delivered to their doorstep. We saw that many calls came from people living in big houses with cars parked outside, some were even taxis,” he adds.
(L-R) Ajinder Singh and other members of his family while providing free food in Adelaide. Source: Ajinder Singh
When Mr Singh confronted the residents that this service is for the needy and sick, especially students, he was told that the food comes from a gurudwara and not their homes, so “it’s not their business to decide who they should deliver it to”.
“Some would complain why we’ve delivered less than what they had asked for. Another lady said she has a baby and was unable to cook and that could pay for the food but I told her we are not running a restaurant,” he adds.
Mr Singh’s group of volunteers then decided to give up delivering meals and deliver groceries instead. The group found that people would call various donors to receive free groceries.
‘Don’t exploit the needy’
Sydney’s Gurnam Singh, who heads Australian Indian Sports Educational and Cultural Society, feels this practice of exploiting charitable work is unfair for those who are in real trouble.
“Most international students are barely able to survive the coronavirus crisis. On top, they are ineligible for Centrelink benefits. Those who are permanent residents or citizens of Australia shouldn’t diminish their chances of getting help because volunteers are working with limited resources,” he says.
‘Too tired to cook’
Abhishek Arora, an international student who came from the north Indian city of Ambala to Melbourne not very long ago, says he has seen people around him “misuse” charitable services.
“I know many international students who are getting financial support from their families back in India. Despite that, they are calling for food and groceries to be delivered to their places. Some young people I know have jobs but are misusing these services by going to the pick-up points after work and getting hold of ready-to-eat food. They are too tired to cook,” laughs Mr Arora.
Till last month, he worked in a hotel but has now been stood down.
“I have also been offered free food and groceries by people doing social service but for now, I’ve politely declined their offer as I have some savings to rely on and my family back in India is also capable of supporting me financially,” adds Mr Arora.
Abhishek Arora, an international student in Melbourne, has been stood down by his employer. Source: Abhishek Arora
‘Exchange food for cosmetics’
Satinder Chawla, a Melbourne-based artist recently posted a video of a one-act play based on this growing trend on his social media account.
He has scripted the play and has also performed in it along with his wife.
“I was inspired to write this play based on some news reports coming from India in which a man who kept hoarding free groceries at his place went to exchange daal (lentils) for hair oil and dye, which are not even essential items,” says Mr Chawla.
“Then I heard from friends that in Australia, some people are calling charitable workers to deliver free food to their premises while they are enjoying their drink or relaxing in front of the TV. I got my wife to enact the role of one such Punjabi lady who was feeling lazy to cook one day and calls some volunteers to deliver cooked food at her place. Then I walk in make her realise her mistake,” he adds.
To listen to this Punjabi podcast, click on the player inside the picture at the top.
