Now, American Sikhs to send aid to Florida

AMRITSAR: After extending help to the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston,

Sikhs in America are preparing to send aid

and teams of volunteers to Florida to help the people affected by Hurricane Irma that has left thirteen people dead and thousands homeless.

“Drawing inspiration from the concept of Sewa (selfless service) as enshrined in Sikhism, we have begun preparations to brace for the three hurricanes: Irma, Jose and Katia, coming into the Atlantic ocean. Irma is said to be the strongest of the three,” said Hardyal Singh of US-based United Sikhs, while talking to TOI on Friday.

He said they had already spoken to their volunteers and the gurdwara managements in Miami and Orlando. “We have asked them to follow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (

FEMA

) orders and evacuate if their city is in the line of hurricane,” he said.

Hardyal said they had also established a base camp in Orlando and their local coordinator Baljit Singh was monitoring the situation with a team of volunteers.

“We have advised families to purchase necessary supplies for their household,” he said, adding that it was due to their local coordinators it had been possible to prepare for distribution of aid in a short time frame and that the first shipment of aid was being gathered.

“Our team is in touch with FEMA and

Red Cross

and more volunteers will reach the affected regions once the impact of the storm is assessed,” said Gurvinder Singh, director, United Sikhs.

About hurricane relief effort in Houston, he said United Sikh volunteers from Texas, Indiana, Seattle, California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Washington are on ground to assist. “Today we are providing two trucks of food and relief items to the sheriff’s department,” he said.