Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

The first Khalsa Aid ground team, Ravinder Singh and Nick Kandola, have begun relief work in South India, Sri Lanka and the Andaman Islands. Khalsa Aid is one of the few relief agencies to have visited the Andaman Islands. This was made possible due to their partnership with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, Mumbai. In fact, Bhai Kulwant Singh was instrumental in organizing this trip. Below is an update detailing the projects initiated by Khalsa Aid.

Andaman/Nikobar Islands
Khalsa Aid received requests from the Sikhs in Nikobar Islands yesterday evening. The immediate requirement is for food and the families have requested dal (Lentils) and atta (flour).

Last night, Raj Desai, UK Managing Director for Jet Airways, was contacted by Khalsa Aid and immediate assistance was requested. Within minutes, Mr Desai contacted the office in Mumbai and provided Khalsa Aid with the contact details.

Local Jet Airways staff from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai subsequently organized the aircraft facilities (2 tonnes of cargo space) for Khalsa Aid. This air cargo consists of flour, lentils, cooking oil, Salt and Baby food. A further 3 tonnes of aid will be obtained from Port Blair.

Due to logistical and technical reasons, the aircraft at Mumbai cannot fly directly to the Nikobar Islands. Consequently, the food is being sent to Port Blair and then will be transported to the Nikobar Islands.

"We are very grateful to Jet Airways and their personnel for the immediate assistance they have provided to us and the desperate families of Nikobar Islands" said Nick Kandola of Khalsa Aid.

Ravinder Singh of Khalsa Aid met with the Governor of Tamil Nadu to ensure a safe and successful passage onwards to the Nikobar Islands. He will now travel with the food and ensure that it is delivered directly to the affected families. Please pray for safe travel of all personnel and the affected families.

Other Updates:

Cuddalore, India

1. Tent provision: 400 tents are being made and hand delivered to families on Saturday, January 15th, 2005.

2. Khalsa Aid has put together a proposal for the DFID to fund nursery reconstruction in two phases, immediate and short term. Khalsa Aid will start Phase I immediately and await response from the DFID on Phase II. This will be a three month project and will be continued by our second ground team.

Sri Lanka


Khalsa Aid plan to visit Sri Lanka next week and will immediately deliver 500 tents for displaced families there.

How the Sangat Can Help
We ask the sangat to pray for all the Tsunami-affected families. Khalsa Aid also requires more volunteers. If you would like to help, please call our hotline or visit our website www.khalsaaid.org (UK Registered Charity 1080374). You can also contact the ground team at the numbers given below.

Phone:

Ground Team (India) +91 984 025 8984 OR +91 984 060 3528

Contact Us

Phone:

( 0 ) 7966 414 774
( 0 ) 7733 124 520

Fax: To be announced soon

Mailing Address:
Khalsa Aid
Office 16
111 Whitby Road
Slough
Berks
SL1 3DR
UK

Online: www.khalsaaid.org
E-mail: khalsaaid@khalsaaid.org