All the funds raised via this donation page will be used to assist the victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquakes.

Your donation is going to a UK registered charity. For any overseas donations please check your local country guidelines to see if the donation is eligible for tax concessions.

Latest statement: Turkey Earthquake

Date: 17 February, 2023

Khalsa Aid International is mobilising a global response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Turkey. The disaster relief charity has been working in partnership with several organisations including local organisations to effectively deploy much needed operations and logistics.

Ravi Singh, CEO of Khalsa Aid said: "We are all witnessing a humanitarian crisis and we all need to help in whatever way we can. Despite the 24 years of frontline aid work, I still struggle with my emotions in each disaster I witness on the ground.”

“Our hearts go out to the families and friends who have lost loved ones in this devastating earthquake and those who are displaced in freezing temperatures. We are committed to providing support and aid to those affected and will continue to work closely with local organisations to ensure that their needs are met.”

"We would like to say a huge thank you for the kind generous donations to date. However, there is much work to do to ensure as much as possible we reduce the impact on victims.”

Khalsa Aid volunteers have been working tirelessly behind the scenes coordinating support. The donations will help towards frontline response.

Over the last 10 days:

• Mon 6 - Tues 7 Feb: First response from Khalsa Aid Iraq team who were dispatched on the ground in Turkey within 24 hours of the earthquake to carry out assessments and to deliver emergency support. The team travelled overnight by road from Iraq, arriving in Turkey on Tuesday afternoon. A truckload of 3,500 blankets accompanied the team for distribution as those who had lost their homes were now battling freezing conditions as the temperature remained very cold. The team also set up the initial hot meals service.
  
  
• Wed 8 Feb - Mon 13 Feb: Khalsa Aid CEO Ravi Singh arrived in Turkey to support the operational aid efforts. Risk assessments are ongoing, and the focus remains on providing the most urgent aid. Over the last week experienced volunteers from the West Midlands and Yorkshire, UK are now deployed in Turkey. Thousands of blankets have now been delivered. Barzani Charity Foundation a non-profit NGO based in the Kurdistan Region-Iraq, has been supporting Khalsa Aid to set Langar (community kitchen) to those displaced in Urfa and Islahiye. Our teams are based in Sanliurfa (2000) and Islahiya (1000) with 3000 hot meals served everyday.
  
  
• Tues 14 Feb: The President of Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani thanked Khalsa Aid for the work in Turkey during a visit to the area. Two more truckloads of supplies arrived from Iraq yesterday night carrying large scale food supplies and 2,000 warm jackets for children and adults.
  
  
• Wed 15 Feb: Female volunteers from Greater London and Poland are deployed to support the delivery of much needed female welfare and sanitary products.
  
  
• Thurs 16 Feb: Our heartfelt thanks once again to British Airways for supporting Khalsa Aid to transport aid. The cargo allocated will be four tonnes of water survival boxes (200 boxes in total) which includes water purification equipment, shelter and survival tools, hygiene supplies and food/drink supplies. These have been donated for free by Watersurvivalbox Ltd.
  
  
• Fri 17 Feb: Team from Canada and India despatched.
  

Thank you to Lotus Flower for their wonderful support and working with Khalsa Aid to pack nearly 2,000 more winter coats, jackets and socks for children impacted by the earthquakes. Sweets were placed in the pockets as a tiny surprise. Our thanks to both Sartaaj Foundation and Jeevans Gift Foundation (UK) for donating to our earthquake relief efforts.

Together - we can protect more people from the worst effects and get food and warmth supplies urgently to where they need to be.

For the latest updates, images and video footage visit Khalsa Aid International social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn).

Our International Student Welfare Project will be providing knowledge, information and support so that those studying in the UK, and their dependents, will feel more integrated into the community and can access any help they require. International students provide valuable resources for companies and this project will aim to reduce any obstacles to their success.

Khalsa Aid International will facilitate a range of events aimed at covering the needs of International Students. Over recent times, we have received reports ranging from loneliness and lack of community to exploitation and grooming. We hope that by giving the students more information about life in the UK and enabling them to make connections with others in a similar position, they can avoid some of the difficulties others have faced.

We are finding that female students are at greater risk of loneliness and exploitation and therefore, in need of more support. For this reason, our first event will be a social gathering for female students so they can build a network within the community.

Following on from this we will have events across the UK, for all students, male and female, to provide information that will help the students with their day-to-day lives and their safety, as well as help them plan for the future. The speakers will come from a range of fields, such as police, lawyers, visa specialists, mental health experts and student services. The information they receive will enable the students to get the help they need from the correct places and reduce the risk of exploitation.

Each attendee must have an individual ticket. There is no charge for the tickets, but they are necessary for administration purposes.

Choose the event you wish to attend from the list below to book your ticket. We will be adding more events in locations around the UK soon so keep an eye on Khalsa Aid International’s social media for updates.

Please be aware that Khalsa Aid International will not be able to provide financial assistance but can give information to help find further help in the community.

For further information please email uk.studentsupport@khlasaaid.org

Khalsa Aid is committed to providing assistance and support to those in need, especially during times of crisis. That is why we were deeply concerned to hear about the unbearable pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, which is expected to continue until Easter. As reported by the British Medical Association, waiting times for Accident & Emergency (A&E) in England are now at their highest level since records began, with over 4 million people waiting more than 4 hours for treatment.

In response to this crisis, Khalsa Aid has been delivering refreshing snacks and drinks to A&E departments across numerous London hospitals on a daily basis since 22nd December 2022. We wanted to do our part to help ease the distress caused to both patients and staff, who are working under extremely challenging circumstances.

Our CEO, Ravinder Singh, had this to say about the programme: "If your A&E department needs our support during this hectic and chaotic period, please reach out to us. We are happy to support our frontline workers and those patients who are waiting hours to be treated. Our NHS staff are the real heroes."

We were humbled to receive tremendous positive feedback within a few days of the programme launching. An example below is from Lucy Tebbit, a healthcare worker at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, who said, "We are so very grateful. I have experienced you all coming round and I know both the staff and patients have been very grateful. We are working in very challenging times and your generosity has made days a little easier. Thank you." This was one of many wonderful messages we received from both staff and patients.

Many of the patients our volunteers have spoken to have been waiting for up to nine hours and have not had any food or drink in that time, either because the cafes are closed, the hospital vending machine is not working or out of stock, or they are simply afraid to miss their turn in the waiting list.

We are committed to continuing our efforts to support the NHS and its dedicated staff as they work to provide essential care to those in need.

If you know of an A&E department that could use our support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at info@khalsaaid.org.

Khalsa Aid volunteers are on the ground in Jalandhar, Punjab (India) providing emergency food, shelter and warm clothing to at least 50 families who have sadly had their homes demolished.

On Sunday 9th December 2022, following a court ruling, the houses of families who had been settled in the Latifpura area since the partition of India in 1947 were made homeless. Unfortunately, the local government and agencies had failed to provide any alternative accommodation or other arrangements for these families before the demolition. The Latifpura area developed into a site similar to a refugee camp, with young children and the elderly left to stand in the harsh winter conditions without their belongings and no washroom facilities.

After hearing these heartbreaking reports, our volunteers from Khalsa Aid India attended the site with vital supplies such as warm clothing, tents, mattresses, temporary washrooms and langar (hot meals) and will continue providing assistance until alternative accommodation is identified for the families.

These families after suffering the horrors of the partition in 1947, were never allocated any land and settled in Latifpura. Now 75 years later, their future generations have been made homeless. We have written to the Chief Minister of Punjab to express our grave concerns and hope this issue can be resolved immediately. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the families in Latifpura.

We recently hosted our annual dinner, where we were able to provide our key donors, volunteers and partners with updates on our global aid projects. We are very grateful to all our guests who travelled far and wide to attend our event and continue supporting the life-changing relief work that Khalsa Aid provides. Each of you has played an essential role in helping Khalsa Aid on its mission to serve humanity and we are thankful that we were able to gather together to reflect on our progress.

Global Chapters
We were privileged that the Khalsa Aid country leaders for Canada, USA, India and Australia joined us in person to provide updates on their key projects, and we were also able to hear from our country leader in Iraq via video link. Khalsa Aid is a truly global charity and we will continue to grow our teams across all regions.

Raffle
A big thank you to everyone who participated in our raffle and we hope you enjoy the prizes. We were overwhelmed by our guests’ generosity and managed to raise over £8,000, all of which will be used to support our on-going relief programmes. We would also like to thank our supporters and local businesses who donated a tremendous amount of high quality raffle gifts.

Entertainment
Firstly, we extend our gratitude to the MC on the night, Sukhi Bart, for hosting the event and keeping us entertained. Thank you to Déjà Vu Events and Booth Kings Limited for helping create an engaging atmosphere for our guests. In addition, our guests were blown away by the captivating musical performances from Harsimran Kaur & Ranvir Singh, Amrit Kaur Lohia and the Grewal Twins.

We would also like to thank the NHS England Blood & Transplant Organ Donation Ambassadors for attending and helping raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

Lastly, we express our utmost gratitude to the Radisson Blu Edwardian, London. The hotel management team has consistently created magical nights for us throughout the years and has once again exceeded expectations. The management’s generosity has allowed Khalsa Aid to connect with our supporters for the first time since the Covid pandemic, for which we are highly appreciative.