Selfless service, oneness and equality are some of the great principles which Sikh around the world have been following and have evidently made their name synonymous with. Even when they’re living far away from the motherland and their families, the commitment to the principles remain unshaken.
In the similar spirit of Sewa, this group of individuals from Nova Scotia, Canada have found a great way to serve their fellow community members in their adopted home. This group has been working to raise awareness and fundraise for many different Canadian charities representing causes such as ALS, Blood Cancer and local food banks.
Their unique way of fundraising includes making Bhangra videos and making a call to the community to seek donations for the cause at the end of the video. Interested people are redirected to the official websites of these charities where they can donate their time or money.
The groups videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube and Facebook, where a lot of people talk about how these videos keep them happy and make them smile.
SNAPSHOT OF SOME HAPPY COMMENTS FROM SAME OR A DIFFERENT VIDEO:
The groups co-founder Hasmeet Singh Chandok says “We initially wanted to make the videos to let people know about identity as there were very few Sikhs in this part of Canada, but quickly moved to raising money and awareness for local community after receiving so much love from the Canadians”.
In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia in the Maritimes region, the Sikh population has been considerably small as compared to other parts of Canada until the last 5 years. Hundreds of Sikh families are making Nova Scotia their new home and the only Gurudwara in the province seems to be only place for local Sikh population to connect with Guru Sahib and each other.
The present Gurudwara usually known as Maritime Sikh Society to the local sangat was made more than 50 years ago and holds a lot of historical significance as it was the first and only gurudwara built East of Montreal for quite a long time. Moreover, all the sewa and service at the Maritime Sikh Society was and is still done by local volunteers.
Considering the expanding Sikh population and in an effort to serve the local community for their other cultural needs such as teaching Punjabi, arranging temporary accommodation for the new immigrants/students, the Gurudwara Sahib is going through a major expansion for which the local community has been making efforts to fundraise.
More information about how the donations can be made can be found on:
www.maritimesikhsociety.com