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Sikhs are back in town: warming tummies and hearts during flood crisis

Sikhs are back in town: warming tummies and hearts during flood crisis

The Advertiser30-05-2025

They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods.
And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away.
On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree.
They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore.
Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans.
"On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said.
As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening.
"They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said.
Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities.
Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies.
Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items.
For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life.
It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck.
"The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.Sri Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring.
"It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status.
"In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind."
They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods.
And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away.
On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree.
They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore.
Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans.
"On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said.
As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening.
"They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said.
Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities.
Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies.
Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items.
For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life.
It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck.
"The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.Sri Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring.
"It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status.
"In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind."
They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods.
And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away.
On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree.
They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore.
Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans.
"On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said.
As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening.
"They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said.
Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities.
Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies.
Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items.
For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life.
It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck.
"The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.Sri Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring.
"It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status.
"In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind."
They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods.
And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away.
On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree.
They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore.
Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans.
"On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said.
As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening.
"They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said.
Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities.
Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies.
Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items.
For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life.
It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck.
"The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.Sri Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring.
"It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status.
"In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind."

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'We started a fire': ADF criticised over major blaze
'We started a fire': ADF criticised over major blaze

The Advertiser

time13-06-2025

  • The Advertiser

'We started a fire': ADF criticised over major blaze

The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials.

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