Ravi Singh (humanitarian)

Ravinder Singh Sidhu
Native name ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ
Residence Slough, England
Nationality British
Alma mater Slough and Eton Church of England Business and Enterprise College
Occupation CEO of Khalsa Aid
Years active 1999-Present
Known for Humanitarian work around the globe
Board member of Khalsa Aid

Ravinder Singh Sidhu (Punjabi: ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ) (born 1969) is a British humanitarian and founder of the international non-profit aid and relief organization Khalsa Aid.

Career

Ravi has been working as a humanitarian since 1999, when he had the idea of taking the concept of langar aka Sikh community kitchen to regions of the world that needed it the most with the hope that it will help to rekindle people’s trust in humanity.[1]

Ravi shot to fame in the UK in 2014 when he mobilised his charity to help the people of Somerset after heavy rain and high winds caused huge amounts of damage to property and land.[2] Later that year the people of Somerset nominated him to appear on the national hit TV show 'Surprise Surprise' as a way of saying thank you for his support. He received a family holiday and a new car.[3]

In 2015 Ravi helped the people of Nepal after an earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000. He encouraged his newly made friends from Somerset to help.[4]

The BBC made a film about Ravi in 2016 titled 'The Selfless Sikh' which documented his journey to northern Iraq, where he provides aid to Yazidi families who have fled their homes to escape the brutality of Islamic State.[5] The film follows Singh into the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan as he delivers aid to Yazidi refugees in makeshift camps, barely 70 kilometres from the IS stronghold of Mosul.[6]

In 2016 Ravi's team assisted motorists stranded in the Dover traffic chaos by delivering 6000 water bottles. Some travellers spent up to 15 hours at a standstill on the M20. Ravi was praised widely on social media.[7]

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Ravi was honoured with the Bhagat Singh Thind Community Empowerment Award at a national gala dinner in the USA.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ravi Singh: Reigniting Faith in Humanity". www.darpanmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  2. ↑ "Disaster Charity Khalsa Aid Helps Flood Victims". Sky News. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  3. ↑ "Relief worker surprised on national TV after flooding help". Slough Observer. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  4. ↑ "Nepal earthquake: Happy List hero inspires people to return the help". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  5. ↑ "The Selfless Sikh: Faith on the Frontline - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  6. ↑ Visvak (2016-11-19). "Ravi Singh: the Sikh who leads relief work from Haiti to Iraq". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  7. ↑ Boult, Adam (2016-07-24). "Volunteer group delivers water to motorists stranded in Dover traffic chaos". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  8. ↑ "Ravi Singh, Founder of Khalsa Aid to Receive Bhagat Singh Thind Award | SALDEF". saldef.org. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
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