Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Recently I was invited by my good friend Guri Singh and other members of my local Sikh community to a fundraising event for the organisation Khalsa Aid where I had the opportunity to meet its founder, the UK based Mr Ravi Singh. Khalsa Aid is a not-for-profit organisation which was founded in 1999 in the response to the Kosovo refugee crisis. Ravi Singh, in creating Khalsa Aid, was inspired by the tenets of his Sikh faith, which focuses on universal prosperity and recognises the equal dignity of every human being. I was very impressed with the work Khalsa Aid has conducted over the years, always inspired by the expression of common human dignity. Our local Sikh community consider Ravi Singh as a great, inspirational man.

Since 1999, Khalsa Aid has been tirelessly providing aid in response to numerous humanitarian crises across the world. The organisation has provided over 25 international missions since its founding in 1999. In 2015, Khalsa Aid worked with the Australian organisation Turbans 4 Australia to support victims of Cyclone Marcia, providing food, water and medical supplies.

Most recently, Khalsa Aid has been working on various projects in response to the humanitarian needs created by the crisis in Iraq and Syria. In addition to providing aid and support to refugees in the region, Khalsa Aid has initiated a food and water project for refugees in northern Iraq known as the Langar Aid project. The Langar Aid project takes its name from the Sikh term which refers to a common kitchen where food is served to all visitors freely and indiscriminately, promoting a sense of shared community. No rituals are observed in the Langar so that everyone eats together and shares in the tasks of the kitchen. I have enjoyed sharing such meals at my local Sikh gurudwara in Craigieburn.

While the Australian notions of equality and the fair go share much in common with these Sikh principles, there is still plenty that Australia can learn from them. Ravi Singh has encouraged the local Australian Sikh community to work with our Indigenous population to create stronger connections with Australia's first people. He emphasised that it was indeed their responsibility to begin their humanitarian work assisting the Indigenous people of their new homeland, Australia.

The values and work of Khalsa Aid show a deep and complex understanding of human dignity and commonality. Not only does its work promote tolerance and seek to remove sectarian and civilisational divides but it also converts a belief in equality into a positive obligation imposed on all of us to better our communities. I want to commend Ravi Singh for his efforts, and I want to thank him for visiting Australia to raise awareness of the good work his organisation does. I want to also commend my local Sikh community for giving me the opportunity to meet an exceptional human being, and I commend Khalsa Aid to the House. Thank you.

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