Sikh volunteers in Warrington, England, started this week by serving free meals at homeless shelter Room at the Inn as part of Langar Week, which aims to tackle world hunger and put equality into action.
Volunteers from Warrington Guru Nanak Gurdwara made their way to the shelter in Warrington town centre to serve the langar, as well as dropping off bags of donations. The shelter offers a lifeline to some of Warrington’s most vulnerable people and centre manager Susan Blyth hailed the Sikh community for their selfless efforts Pritam Tatla, from the gurdwara, said volunteers were ‘very pleased’ to serve the homeless community ‘because that is part of our duty’. Langar, which means free community kitchen, is served in gurdwaras daily and is available to everyone regardless of faith, gender, age or status.
Although the generosity formed part of worldwide initiative Langar Week, the Sikh concept of langar is something that is displayed throughout the year.
Sikhs hold regular street feeds, while the doors to gurdwaras, which are Sikh temples, are open to all, as long as the code of conduct is followed. They served hot vegetarian meals and also handed over donations from the congregation. The generosity formed part of Langar Week – an initiative in place to help fight hunger, put equality into action and teach compassion.
Pritam Tatla, from the gurdwara, said: "It has been brilliant to be a part of Langar Week to help spread the message of Sikhism. We are extremely grateful to be given the chance to help those at the homeless shelter. "The Sikh community has been preparing, cooking and offering free food as langar for more than 500 years now. Langar fights hunger, teaches compassion and puts equality into action. The congregation at our gurdwara is one big family. Anyone is welcome to join us on Tuesday evenings for a vegetarian meal, as long as the gurdwara code of conduct is followed."