In October 1999 the Indian state of Orissa suffered a devastating cyclone , which killed over 30000 people (unofficial estimates put the death toll at over 40000). Khalsa Aid dispatched 2 volunteers in late December (Ravinder Singh and Bherminder Singh) to assess the situation and provide immediate aid, where possible.

The team reached Orissa on 31st December. The first thing that struck them was the sheer poverty of the area. After spending the night in a hotel in which the volunteers nearly got robbed the team drove on towards the main affected area. Very soon the devastation was evident. The remaining day was spent driving around the area listening to some terrible tales of death and destruction. It had been three months since the cyclone struck the area, but there were still half rotting bodies everywhere. Some of the saddest sights were at night when driving through the broken land you would see a single child sitting alone by a fire and whose whole family had been killed. Most of the survivors had lost everything from loved ones to even the basic cooking utensils needed to survive.

After spending a further two days assessing the situation it was decided that Khalsa Aid should help the children with educational equipment (books, pens, pencils, blackboards, chalk, etc). Classes were being held in the open with very little materials. With the help of the very determined and wonderful Sikhs of Orissa, Khalsa Aid purchased enough materials for over 6000 children. It took a whole day and three different teams to distribute the vital aid to individual schools in the area.

Orissa remains a very poor state of India. The fishing industry is the main source of income but it was hit the worst during the cyclone and continues to suffer today.

With this second significant mission, thousands of poor children benefited from the generosity of the Sangat.