Motivated by Sewa, Sikh group in US prepares itself to brace three more hurricanes

AMRITSAR: After extending help to hurricane Harvey victims in Houston, Sikhs in America are preparing themselves to send aid and teams of volunteers in wake of hurricane Irma which has already struck Florida leaving thirteen dead and thousands homeless.
"Drawing inspiration from concept of Sewa (selfless service) as enshrined in Sikhism, we have begins preparations to brace the three hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia coming into the Atlantic ocean, however the strongest is Irma" said Hardyal Singh of US based Sikh body United Sikhs while talking to TOI on Friday.
He said they had already spoken to their volunteers and Gurdwara management in Miami and in 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.
American newspapers have quoted president Donald Trump as saying 'the winds of Irma are the strongest I have ever soon' to forewarn on the deadliest intensity of hurricane Irma.
Hardyal said they had also established a base camp in Orlando and their local coordinator Baljit Singh monitoring the situation with a team of volunteers.
“Right now we have advised the families to purchase the necessary supplies that are needed for their household,” he said adding that it was due to their local coordinators that they got activated in a short time frame and have begun to gather the first shipment of aid to be distributed.
“Our team is in touch with FEMA, Red Cross and more volunteers will reach the impacted regions once the impact of the storm is assessed,” said Gurvinder Singh, director of the Sikh body.
About hurricane relief effort in Houston, he informed that their volunteers from Texas, Indiana, Seattle, California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Washington have been activated to assist in the efforts towards the Hurricane relief efforts. “Today we are providing 2 trucks of food and disaster relief items to sheriff’s department” he said.