PETALING JAYA: It was an historic moment for non-governmental, faith-based organisation United Sikhs after they were invited to speak and share their ideas at a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) discussion in New York recently.
Its humanitarian aid coordinator Rishiwant Singh Randhawa said he was invited for the discussion on July 10 and 11 as part of UN's initiatives to find ways and solutions on how faith-based organisations can eliminate extreme poverty and work with non-faith-based bodies.
The invitation came after Rishiwant, also known as the "Flying Singh", gave a talk at the Global Conference on Religion and Sustainable Development organised by the World Bank Group and other organisations.
"The idea was to listen to organisations like us and many others from each and every religion, so we can learn how to work together in addressing the issue.
"As never before, the world bodies have considered the wisdom of religion to help sustainable development goals," he said when contacted by theSun.
In his presentation, Rishiwant had urged delegates to follow the Sikh model of recognising the human race as one.
He said the idea that many people believed that "we should do unto others what you want to be done to yourself", is wrong and should not be followed.
"Instead, you should do unto others what they want to be done to themselves. You do not go to a disaster and tell the victims what to do. Ask them what it is that they really want for themselves, that is what we should provide them. And that is how we have been operating over the past years," he added.
Rishiwant provided recent examples of humanitarian missions that he had embarked on during the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, and the typhoon in Philippines.
"The first thing we thought about what Aceh people really wanted besides food, was the Quran. We gave them copies of the Quran and praying mats, and the Muslims were shocked and just cried when they received them.
"We went to Philippines and built them churches, instead of houses, because that was what they wanted. These churches even became centres for serving food, so that thousands of people can eat everyday," he said during his presentation.