Khalsa Aid says 'rising intolerance' is biggest challenge on 25th anniversary

Humanitarian charity Khalsa Aid says rising intolerance is the biggest challenge for aid workers as it reflects on its 25-year history.

Ravinder ‘Ravi’ Singh Sidhu founded the Slough-based NGO in April 1999, during the Kosovo War, when a small group drove two trucks to the Albanian border for its first emergency provision.

Since then, Khalsa Aid has become an internationally supported charity with tens of thousands of volunteers across several global chapters including Canada, Australia, India and the USA.

“We haven’t looked back – it’s been a journey,” CEO Ravi told the Express.

He described starting the charity as a ‘massive’ leap of faith.

“We’ve covered almost every disaster and war in the last 25 years and we’re always proud to say we started from Slough.”

Since founding the charity at age 29, Ravi said the ‘passion’ and ethos – to recognise the whole human race as one – remains the same on its 25th anniversary.

“A lot of people think we only help Sikhs but we’re anything but,” said Ravi.

“I can’t believe as a founder, how far we’ve got, where we ended up and how we ended up here. It’s been amazing.”

Ravi moved to Chalvey from Punjab, India in 1981 and set up the organisation’s offices in Whitby Road in 1999.

That year, a reporter asked him whether the organisation would grow like The Red Cross, and Ravi was convinced it would.

“I said yes, we will. We became the first-ever Sikh humanitarian organisation – it was something I believed would grow,” he said.

Ravi reflected on the generosity of local gurdwaras during the miners’ strike whilst growing up in Slough during the eighties.

“In our faith, there is the saying ‘Sarbat da Bhalla’ or the 'wellbeing of all', so we are a very generous community – we don’t mind who comes to the gurdwara,” he added.

“We don’t mind anyone eating with us in the langar hall. It’s open to anybody. That instilled in me that our faith has shown us the path, why don’t we do something for those who need it more?

“Now we’re spending millions [globally], and it's all from the Sikh community. We don’t get any grants or funding. Our community is very generous and that makes me very proud.”

The ‘immense’ paperwork has posed an unexpected challenge since expanding operations, but the charity – which currently operates out of an office in Taplow – hopes to relocate its headquarters back to Slough.

“Slough is where we started so it will always be our spiritual home,” said Ravi, who says the charity is part of the town’s ‘fabric’.

“From the Middle East to Asia, there’s so much love for Khalsa Aid across the world. We try to live up to our name [and] deliver as fast as we can in an emergency.”

Ravi believes today’s challenges are ‘more difficult’ than 25 years ago due to social media and rising intolerance.

He also said there is more ‘fatigue’ and ‘hatred towards refugees’ since the war in Syria began in 2011.

“We judge people without knowing their plight. Instead of jumping to conclusions, we need to be more understanding of their situation rather than their identity,” he added.

Ravi said ‘identity’ has been both a positive and a challenge to Khalsa Aid as an organisation too.

“Our identity is very distinct – the turbans, the beards,” he said.

“People perceive you to be a religious missionary organisation. We’re not.

“We don’t even talk about who we are – we get stuck in.”

He added: “Being a faith organisation, especially Sikhs, where the identity is big for us, the spiritual side gives us strength, and the physical appearance has become such a great symbol of hope in many places.

“We stand out for a reason – that is our image – so people can approach us for any help.

“Khalsa Aid has become synonymous with Sikhism and that identity is very positive for us.”

Speaking about the challenges of providing aid to Gaza, Ravi said the situation has ‘deteriorated’.

“You start out thinking everything is easy – you just take the aid – and then you realise the complexities of delivering aid in different border areas,” he added.

“It’s sad – politics is stopping a lot of the aid. It makes it difficult for us who are deeply passion-driven.”

“We’re still learning some of the ropes but it’s all about compassion.

“It’s amazing how [volunteers] kept my faith alive in humanity. Without our community’s generosity, we couldn’t do anything.

“Here we can call 500 people within 24 hours if we need, maybe more. There’s so much support.”