“From the moment we stepped onto the Sealink Ferry to Kangaroo Island till the time we left, all we got was respect, love and a lot of requests for pictures from people, including the Australian Defence Force (ADF) deployed there,” says a proud yet humble Gurjeet Singh as he recaps the most recent relief operation undertaken by Australian Sikh Support.
A team of 15 volunteers were headed for the bushfire-ravaged Kangaroo Island over the Australia Day long weekend. They describe the scene as something “never before seen” amongst all their relief operations this bushfire season in Victoria, ACT and New South Wales.
Mr Singh, Secretary of the organisation, said that Sealink waived off the ferry fare for all their volunteers when they set sail for Kangaroo Island, took pictures with them and posted them on Facebook.
Australian Sikh Support volunteers clearing the rubble in a property destroyed by bushfires at Kangaroo Island. Source: Supplied
“We were delighted when some members of the ADF appreciated our service and took pictures with us. A motorcycle club’s members waived at us when they saw us. Everyone had seen the media coverage our selfless work had got us and we now feel encouraged to do more,” adds Mr Singh, a resident of Melbourne like most of his comrades.
Other than providing hot Indian meals to the people impacted by the bushfires, Australian Sikh Support, by now a well-known charity organisation of the country, provided preliminary repair services to the fire-ravaged farms on the island.
“Our Adelaide team had coordinated with farmers on Kangaroo Island and local businesses about the requirement for repairing and rebuilding properties there. We, therefore, had a fair idea that this time around, more than just food is needed,” says Mr Singh as he talks to SBS Punjabi.
Volunteers on board the Sialink ferry to Kangaroo Island. Source: Supplied
Earlier this month, charity work by Australian Sikh Support in Victoria’s East Gippsland, Wangaratta and Albury-Wondonga was praised Premier Daniel Andrews, which endorsed their recent popularity.
“We have now taken stock of the situation in Kangaroo Island. Today, we held a meeting in Adelaide to plan how we can provide volunteers tradesmen and building material to help fire-ravaged farmers go back to business. Soon we’ll invite volunteer tradesmen from our community to come along with us to Kangaroo Island. This work can take a couple of months. Volunteers can contact us through https://www.australiansikhsupport.org/” elaborates Mr Singh.
Nearly 210 km from the state capital, Adelaide, this 155 km wide island, otherwise known for its never-ending coastline and mellow honey, gained currency because of the near-total devastation that recent bushfires caused there.
Click on the picture at the top of the page to listen to this interview in Punjabi.
