Above: Jim Winksworth. Below: Ravi Singh of Khalsa Aid.
Current Events
Inspired By Seva,
Former Flood Victim Joins Khalsa Aid
To Serve In Nepal
YUDHVIR RANA
Inspired by seva by Sikh-Britons that transformed his flood-affected village in England overnight in 2014, Jim Winksworth, an Englishman, is now helping victims of earthquake in Nepal by building shelters for them along with group of Sikhs belonging to UK based NGO, Khalsa Aid.
Jim, currently in Nepal, said on Wednesday (May 20, 2015) that his village, Burrowbridge, a sleepy, quintessentially English village in Somerset, United Kingdom, had no contact with the Sikh community and had no knowledge of Seva until February 2014 when Chief Executive Officer of Khalsa Aid, Ravi Singh, called him to offer help in reconstructing his flood-devastated village.
"The whole village was in shock and was trying to deal with the floods, and I didn't pay much attention to this guy who called and offered to help. I told him we needed all hands he could spare. Imagine my shock when the next morning the whole village appeared magically inhabited by these tall bearded guys with their turbans looking for me. And within minutes they had taken over, from organization to physical labour to paying for the valuable sand we needed", he said.
The voluntary service resulted in a bond between Jim, a pub owner and an agriculturist, and Ravi Singh.
Jim said that for the last two weeks, he has been in earthquake affected Nepal on behalf of Khalsa Aid, using his experience to build shelters for the Nepalese people.
Ravi Singh, who is currently in UK, said that Jim had been working tirelessly to make sure that the shelters were in place before the monsoons arrive in full swing. He has also been instructing the local people and other volunteers so that they learn valuable skills and the job gets done in time, he added.
The bond between the community of Somerset and the Sikhs has deepened and strengthened with each passing day, said Ravi Singh, adding, "We now count, among our volunteers and supporters, people who had never even heard of Sikhs till last year".
Jim was part of the team that built homes in flood-hit Bosnia and even visited Ravi Singh's quaint village ‘Mundian Jattan’ in Hoshiarpur in Punjab, said Ravi Singh.
[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
May 20, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Rup Singh (Canada), May 23, 2015, 2:40 PM.
Awesome, very inspiring. Good deeds multiplying. God Bless.