US President Praises UNITED SIKHS Relief Efforts in Haiti
“God’s grace is….expressed through multiple faith-based efforts. By evangelicals at World Relief. By the American Jewish World Service. By Hindu temples, and mainline Protestants, Catholic Relief Services, African American churches, the United Sikhs.” : Barack Obama told a National Prayer Breakfast meeting, yesterday.
Washington DC – President Barack Obama praised yesterday the relief efforts in Haiti of faith and non faith based NGOs, including UNITED SIKHS, at the National Prayer Breakfast meeting in Washington, DC.
The president was addressing a select audience of heads of state, including the Prime Minister of Spain, and praised the relief efforts launched by different communities in Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 7.0 magnitude that hit the country last month. The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February.
“We thank the President for highlighting the role of community based NGOs in providing relief services in Haiti. UNITED SIKHS will continue to provide langgar (hot meals) to thousands of Haitians whilst our medical volunteers treat the injured and the infirm,” said Kuldip Singh, President of the UNITED SIKHS.
“We could not have achieved so much in Haiti without the support of the Sikh community, their media groups and Gurdwaras (Sikh place of worship) from around the world, in particular, USA, France, Canada, UK, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. Our teams also have the support of volunteers of other faiths and non-faiths,” said Kuldip Singh.
“We need to do more especially after media interest wanes. This can only be achieved if our supporters continue to volunteer and donate selflessly,” he added.
You may watch a video of President Obama’s speech here or read a text of his speech here.
Like all other community based NGOs, UNITED SIKHS continues to see an outpouring of compassion as hundreds of volunteers registered to volunteer in Haiti even though the conditions in Haiti are unsafe and challenging.
Dr Sagina Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Medical Corps Coordinator detailed how she coordinated delivery of medical supplies worth over $45,000 to Haiti upon landing for immediate distribution. The UNITED SIKHS Medical Corps Team is partnering with the University of Miami Hospital near the airport in Port-Au-Prince.
Santokh Singh Chhina, a UNITED SIKHS volunteer from Florida, said, “I have hardly seen my wife, Martha Diaz De Chhina, one of the few neurologists available in Haiti. She has been running from the hospital to medical camps, as there is a shortage of neurologists in Port-Au-Prince. As for me, I am busy preparing and serving Langgar (hot meals) to the needy.”
Ranbir Singh, Director of UNITED SIKHS, said, “We have identified the need to provide langgar (hot meals) to a remote population of about 1500 located in a village church compound about 1 hr away from the UNITED SIKHS base camp. Our coordinator Tejinder Singh, from Atlanta, on the ground, is working with team-leader Amritpal Singh Bhatia from California. We will also have to create a permanent kitchen and other facilities, which can be handed over to the Haitians before our volunteers leave Haiti”.
You may read a previous press release on our Haiti relief projects at https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-04-02-2010-00.html
Issued by:
Harpreet Kaur
Director
UNITED SIKHS
Email: sikhaid@unitedsikhs.org
Ph: 1-905-672-2245 ( Canada)
1-888-243-1690 (USA)
1-646-688-3525 (USA)
+44 8701993328 (UK)
You can help those affected by countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the UNITED SIKHS, which will provide immediate relief and support to those in need. Call 1-905-672-2245 or 1-888-243-1690 for more information. Contribute to UNITED SIKHS through local chapter in your country https://unitedsikhs.org/contact-us/ . Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting https://unitedsikhs.org/donate/ . If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation.
