“True Legends” — Sikh Volunteers Giving Out Free Food To Australian Bushfire Victims

By John Vibes

As we have been reporting daily in recent weeks, the bushfires in Australia have grown out of control, and have now scorched well over 12 million acres of land. The fires have taken the lives of over a billion animals, conservative estimates from ecologists are now suggesting. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes in the fire, too, and dozens have now lost their lives, with many more still missing.

The times are certainly difficult for the people of Australia, but it is also times like this where neighbors are able to come together and help each other through the struggle. In one example, Sikh volunteers gathered to offer free food for bushfire victims in Victoria. The volunteers were members of the Melbourne-based Sikh Volunteers Australia, and they traveled around serving hundreds of people in the area last week, working around the clock to help as many people as they could.

Premier Daniel Andrews met with the group while they were working, and later Tweeted that “there’s a saying that in a crisis, we should look for the helpers These legends from Sikh Volunteers Australia drove up to Bairnsdale from Melbourne on Monday – and they’ve been serving free, hot meals ever since.”

There’s a saying that in a crisis, we should look for the helpers.

These legends from Sikh Volunteers Australia drove up to Bairnsdale from Melbourne on Monday – and they’ve been serving free, hot meals ever since.

People helping people. That's what Victoria is all about. pic.twitter.com/lg9sFW3ElE

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) January 2, 2020

Volunteer Jafwinder Singh told SBS News that the disaster was too big to ignore, so he and his group decided to help, as they have other times in the past.

“We decided to come here and serve the people as much as we can. We have a database of more than 100 volunteers,” Singh explained, and luckily there were many of them who were willing to help out.

Singh said that locals allowed them to use their kitchens to prepare the food.

“Preparing the food and bringing it down here from the [Melbourne] base is impossible. It’s a four-hour journey and we can’t keep that food for that long,” Singh said.

The group has said that they plan to stick around until the situation returns to normal.