KhalsaAid

ABOUT US

Khalsa Aid is an international NGO with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world. The organisation is based upon the Sikh principle of “Recognise the whole human race as one”.

LATEST NEWS STORIES

06 Feb 2023

Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal

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).

05 Jan 2023

UK International Student Welfare Project

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



05 Jan 2023

Supporting NHS

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.

16 Dec 2022

Jalandhar families lose their homes

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.

27 Sep 2022

Annual Dinner 2022

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.

31 Aug 2022

Pakistan Floods

Thank you for all of your generous donations. As of 1st December 2022, we have now officially closed our Pakistan Floods Relief Appeal. To date, we have raised a total of £142,259.53 (1220 donations), which has been spent directly on emergency aid on the ground for those impacted by the floods. For updates on our continued work in Pakistan, please follow our social media channels.


Flash floods have displaced over 33 million people, leaving one-third of Pakistan underwater.

On Sunday 28th August 2022 an emergency was declared in Pakistan as severe monsoon flooding displaced around 33 million people while leaving 1,100 people dead. The UN has described the flooding as a 'monsoon on steroids' and initial reports indicate that approximately one third of the country is currently underwater.

Around one million homes have been damaged by the floods which have affected at least 110 districts across Pakistan. The Pakistani Prime Minister has described the floods as "probably the worst in the history of Pakistan".

Khalsa Aid International has mobilised teams on the ground to carry out assessments of the needs of the victims of the floods. We have teams spread across numerous provinces who will be providing temporary accommodation, Langar (hot meals), medical supplies, sanitary items, and food packs.

We also have teams working around the clock with local and international suppliers to secure vital aid supplies. Please continue to follow our social media channels for live updates of the situation on the ground and how you can assist our relief efforts.

Our Projects

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  • Jul 2022

    Water4Africa – Gambia

    With an ever-changing climate and droughts becoming more frequent, access to clean drinking water is a growing problem for many communities in Africa. This is why we setup the Water4Africa

    Nov 2021

    Madagascar Famine Relief

    Madagascar is in the midst of an emergency-level food crisis. The country has regularly been the victim of natural disasters but, following years of harsh weather conditions, June 2021 brought

    Oct 2018

    Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief

    Indonesia – Earthquake and Tsunami Relief A powerful earthquake ( 7.5 magnitude ) struck off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, creating a tsunami which devastated the areas of Palu and

    Aug 2018

    Kerala Floods Relief

    Kerala-India Floods Relief More than one million people were left homeless or trapped after the southern Indian state of Kerala saw its worst flooding in more than 90 years. Many

    Jan 2018

    Congolese (DRC) Refugee Response

    The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently experiencing one of the world’s most underreported refugee emergencies. Khalsa Aid International first visited the region in January 2018, following reports of

    Aug 2017

    Restoring Electricity to Assyrian Orthodox Christians

    Bartella is a small Assyrian Orthodox Christian town in Northern Iraq. This town was devastated by ISIS during their campaign of terror - which included slayings, abductions and destruction of

    Jun 2017

    Grenfell Tower (London) Fire

     On 14 June 2017, a fire spread through the 24-storey Grenfell Tower council housing block in West London – situated just 30km from the Khalsa Aid head office. Our volunteers

    Mar 2017

    Life changing aid for Syrian refugees with disabilities

     Lebanon is host to 1.5 million Syrian refugees - more per capita than any other country in the world. Khalsa Aid International carried out further assessment to understand how we

    Jan 2017

    Syrian refugee emergency relief

    Turkey is one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in the world, and its southern city of Adana is one of the many cities seeing a huge influx of refugees fleeing

    Jan 2017

    Winter Camp Relief and Women’s Aid

    Torbali is a farming district about 50km from Izmir. It is home to a number of informal refugee camps, housing some of the three million refugees who have fled war

    Jan 2017

    Project Dignity: Essential Clothing for Yezidi women, ex slaves of ISIS

    Northern Iraq is home to the Yezidi community, one of the most vulnerable religious groups in the world. In 2014 ISIS targeted the Yezidis, killing the men, taking young boys

    May 2016

    Greece: Refugee Crisis

    More than one million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, sparking the biggest refugee crisis in the EU since the Second World War. Khalsa Aid relief teams have

    Dec 2015

    UK Floods 2015

    Flooding had a devastating impact on parts of the UK in late 2015. Areas in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria were adversely affected with people evacuated from their homes and entire

    Jul 2015

    Yemen Civil War

    The civil war in Yemen has had a disastrous impact on the country. Over 2.5 million people have had to flee their homes and have become internally displaced persons (IDPs).

    Apr 2015

    Nepal earthquake 2015

    In April 2015 a devastating earthquake hit Nepal killing over 8,000 people and injuring 21,000. Khalsa Aid dispatched an emergency relief team which were on the ground within 36 hours

    Mar 2015

    Drinking water for flood victims in Malawi

    In February 2015, heavy rains hit the Phalombe region in the North East Constituency of Malawi. The river banks flooded which created havoc for the local communities there, with initial

    Feb 2015

    Australia: Cyclone Marcia

    In 2015 a category 5 tropical cyclone made its way over the Queensland area in Australia.  Cyclone Marcia is estimated to have caused $590m of damage in the local area.

    Oct 2014

    Vishakhapatnam Cyclone

    in 2014, a severe Cyclone storm, named Hudhud caused extensive damage and loss of life in eastern India and Nepal. Hudhud caused extensive damage to the city of Visakhapatnam and

    Sep 2014

    Floods in Jammu and Kashmir, India

    In the wake of heavy monsoon rain and flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, which have killed over 400 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Indian Armed Forces were deployed

    Jul 2014

    Riots Relief Saharanpur, India

    In the summer of 2014, communal riots occurred in the city of Saharanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. As a result of the clashes many innocent families were affected

    Jul 2014

    Displaced Sikhs in Iraq

    Economic migrants from Punjab were positioned in Iraq, working as manual labourers in the county. They were forced to flee the country amid security fears due to the rise of

    Jun 2014

    Providing Bread to Syrian Refugees in Iraq

    In the Summer of 2014, the rise of ISIS led the Yezidi and Assyrian communities to leave their homes and become refugees, becoming a very difficult situation for the people

    May 2014

    Bosnia Floods

    Catastrophic flooding in the Balkans region (the worst for over a century) with over 3 months worth of rain falling in a few days led to the devastation of local

    May 2014

    Sudanese Refugee Camp, Uganda

    More than half a million people fleeing violence and human rights abuses, mostly from South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have now found protection and safety in

    Apr 2014

    Lebanon: Refugee support

    As the conflict in Syria escalated many Syrians crossed the border into Lebanon to seek refuge. In 2014, Khalsa Aid dispatched a relief team to Lebanon to support refugees in

    Jan 2014

    UK Floods – 2014

    In late 2013 and early 2014, severe floods hit parts of Britain including Somerset and Berkshire. Khalsa Aid undertook various initiatives to support communities affected in the UK. A summary

    Dec 2013

    Phillipines Typhoon

    Following the devastating Typhoon in December 2013, Khalsa Aid launched a relief program to assist the victims. The relief team adopted a small town on the coast called San Dionisio,

    Sep 2013

    Muzaffarnagar Riots

    The clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India in end of September 2013, resulted in at least 62 deaths including 42 Muslims and 20

    Jun 2013

    Uttarakhand Floods

    In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centred on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides becoming the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.  Khalsa

    Aug 2012

    Water Borehole, Kenya

    Khalsa Aid were contacted by local communities in Kenya who had no access to clean drinking water and required support in building suitable facilities (the nearest water facility was over

    May 2011

    Famine Relief, Kenya

    A bloody civil war in Somalia resulted in one of the biggest refugee camps in the world (over half a million refugees). This hardship was further compounded by a prolonged drought

    Mar 2011

    Libya & Syria (2011)

    In 2011, internal conflict gave rise to civil war in Libya. Migrant workers were escaping the war into neighbouring Tunisia. Our teams provided emergency humanitarian aid on the Tunisian/Libyan border.

    Jun 2010

    Haiti Earthquake (2010)

    The devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti left 220,000 people dead, destroyed 50% of the schools and adversely affected over 3,500,000 people. In 2010, Khalsa Aid partnered with United Haitians in

    Aug 2009

    Cambodia Orphan Children

    In 2009, Varinder Singh, a dentist from Slough, won a £750 cash prize from work to offer voluntary dental services abroad. He chose to do this work in association with Cambodia World

    Mar 2009

    Displaced Sikhs in Pakistan

    In 2009 Khalsa Aid provided relief to the Sikh and Hindu refugees at Panja Sahib Gurdwara, Pakistan.The refugees requested Khalsa Aid to provide them with sanitary items. The purchase of

    Aug 2007

    Punjab Floods 2007

    Catastrophic flooding in Punjab affected over 50,000 people. Many villages suffered immense economic hardship and loss of basic living conditions. Over 134 villages and11,080 hectares of standing crop were affected.  Khalsa

    May 2007

    Bangladesh Cyclone 2007

    The 2007 cyclone in Bangladesh was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country. International NGOs estimated that between 5,000 - 10,000 died as a result of the

    Mar 2006

    Indonesia Tsunami

    In May 2016, an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the Indonesian island of Java. The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Indian Ocean and caused damage

    Mar 2005

    Pakistan Earthquake

    In 2005 a major earthquake occurred in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered Kashmir) and in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). It registered 7.7 on the Richter scale making it similar in intensity

    Dec 2004

    Andaman Islands: Tsunami

    In 2004 an undersea earthquake occurred off the coast of the Tsunami Islands. With an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra the earthquake caused a series of devastating tsunamis'

    Jul 2003

    Somalia Water Purification

    In 2003 Khalsa Aid flew to Somalia to provide assistance. Upon landing in Somalia, the village elders informed us that they had a very high rate of stomach-related illnesses due

    Jul 2003

    Kabul Refugee Aid

    In 2003, Khalsa Aid were contacted by local NGOs to provide assistance to minority communities in Afghanistan. Khalsa Aid launched a relief program with experienced field operatives. Khalsa Aid provided

    Jan 2002

    Congo / Rwanda – Volcanic Eruption

    In January 2002, a volcanic eruption brought death and destruction to the people of Goma, Rwanda. The eruption was 35 km away from the city of Goma, but the thick

    Jan 2001

    Gujarat Earthquake

    A very powerful earthquake shook the western Indian State of Gujarat on January 26, 2001 killing thousands of people and destroying almost all of the buildings in the area. Khalsa Aid

    Dec 1999

    Orissa Cyclone

    In October 1999 the Indian state of Orissa suffered a devastating cyclone, which killed over 30,000 people (external estimates put the death toll at over 40000). Khalsa Aid dispatched 2

    Aug 1999

    Turkey Earthquake

    In August 1999 a devastating earthquake struck North Western Turkey, it caused significant structural damage and killed thousands. The earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale and official damage estimates

    Apr 1999

    Albania – Providing Assistance to Displaced Victims of Civil War & Genocide

    In April 1999, while Sikhs around the world were celebrating 300 years of the Khalsa Panth (Vaisakhi), a very bloody war in Kosovo was raging with thousands of innocent victims