On Monday, November 30 2020, the volunteers at Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara (GMGG) in Slough, UK accepted on behalf of all Sikhs, a special award and recognition for ‘Community Resourcefulness in Response to Covid-19’ at The London Faith & Belief Community Awards.
For the past 20 years, The Faith & Belief Forum has worked to build good relations between people of all faiths and beliefs, and to create a society where difference is celebrated.
This year they introduced a special category to the awards, to celebrate those who had quickly adapted their services and/or through swift innovation created new projects with a focus on the common goal of assisting those affected by the pandemic.
GMGG is one of the UK’s largest Sikh temples and is based in Slough, Berkshire, UK. Since March 2020, when Covid-19 closed all places of worship, like many other Sikh Gurdwaras all over the world their kitchen stayed open and they were still able to serve Langar to people all over the UK. In total, they collaborated with over 130 charities, organizations and places of worship to:
- Provide over 1 million freshly cooked, nutritious, vegetarian hot meals to the homeless, needy & to the National Health Service (NHS) staff, all over London & Greater London.
- Distribute over 430 tons of fresh produce to charities, faith organizations, and individuals.
The GMGG food program has been completely self-funded and no grants or monetary donations have been taken for this initiative.
GMGG works on the premise of three Sikh tenets: 1. Simran, by which one can eliminate thoughts and gain clarity & purpose. By doing Simran the importance of the following two tenets is profound. 2. Sangat - Congregation & Community. 3. Seva - Selfless Service, the importance of giving back, serving the community and helping humanity come together.
The concept of Langar - Free Community Kitchen, was started by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji 550 years ago and has never stopped. “It highlights the importance of understanding true equality; The same light is within each and everyone one of us regardless of colour, creed, gender, age, or social background.” (Deep Kaur, Volunteer)
Contact Details:
Sundeep Kaur
Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara
221 Bath Road, Slough, UK SL1 4BA
Email: [email protected]
www.GMGGFoodSupport.com & www.GMGGurdwara.com