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Sikh Community Relieved as Two Sikhs Freed from Taliban Captivity, Sadly After One is Beheaded UNITED SIKHS appeals for help to rehabilitate displaced Sikh families living in Peshawar, who fled the tribal areas last year without many belongings and have limited resources to start life afresh. You may donate online here or post a check payable to UNITED SIKHS to a UNITED SIKHS office nearest to you. Click here for office locations. Peshawar, PAKISTAN: UNITED SIKHS joined a Sikh delegation to meet the Pakistan Minority Minister today to seek assurances for the safety and security of minorities including Sikhs who have recently been targeted by the Taliban in Pakistan. This meeting with the Minority Minister, Shabaz Bhatti, followed the brutal beheading on 20th February 2010 of a Sikh, Jaspal Singh, by the Taliban, who had captured him with two other Sikhs in the Khyber Agency. The meeting followed an announcement by the Pakistan Army that it had secured the safe return of the two other Sikh captives on 1st March 2010, following a global outcry after the beheading of Jaspal Singh. "We will protect the life and properties of the Sikhs and other minorities in Pakistan. The President and Prime Minister of Pakistan have been briefed about the developments. Rescuing the captured Sikhs was our mission and we accomplished it. I assure my support to all minorities, " Shabaz Bhatti reassured the Sikh delegation, which included Pyara Singh, the late Jaspal Singh’s father. The Two Sikhs who were rescued by the Pakistan Army are: Gurvinder Singh, 16, who was unhurt and Surjeet Singh, 25, who was injured by a gunshot fired at him. Surjeet Singh was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Peshawar and is reported to be out of danger. According to media statements given by the Pakistan army, the two Sikhs were rescued after a massive operation conducted by security personnel. Many militants were reportedly killed in the gun battle. On 11 January Jaspal Singh , Surjeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh were on their way to meet relatives when they kidnapped by Taliban militants in the Khyber Agency. On 20th Feb one of three Kidnapped Sikhs, Jaspal Singh was beheaded in the upper Tirah valley area on the border of the Khyber and Orakzai Agencies. You may read about Jaspal Singh’s murder at http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-23-02-2010-00.html UNITED SIKHS is thankful to the Government of Pakistan and all well wishers around the world including Canada, USA, India, UK, Australia, Malaysia, and Afghanistan who appealed to the Pakistan Government for the safety and security of minorities and prayed for the two Sikhs. UNITED SIKHS appeals for help to rehabilitate displaced Sikh families living in Peshawar, who fled the tribal areas last year without many belongings and have limited resources to start life afresh. You may donate online at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate or post a check payable to UNITED SIKHS to a UNITED SIKHS office nearest to you. For details of our offices see www.unitedsikhs.org/contact.php. http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-02-03-2010-00.html

What does Maskeen translate to? Can someone please post Shabad with Maskeen in.

UNITED SIKHS Video of SIKH AID Haiti Relief work http://unitedsikhs.org/haitiearthquake/videos/haiti_relief.html

United Sikhs Rehabilitation Team Asked to Help Plan New Hospital in Haiti Port-au-Prince: The first UNITED SIKHS' medical team of 6 doctors including two family practice physicians, a rehabilitation/pain management physician, a neurologist, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist returned after helping survivors with acute medical issues and physical rehabilitation. The medical team took approximately $45,000 worth of medical equipment with them, including therapy equipment, medicines, and wound care supplies. UNITED SIKHS rehabilitation team has been asked to come back and be a part of the planning and building of a new 250 bed rehabilitation hospital which will be built in Port-au-Prince. Dr. Sagina Kaur commented, “It’s not enough for us to come there and help once, we need to leave behind something sustainable so that the people of Haiti will continue to heal. That will be the focus of our next effort.” Dr. Baljinder Singh with Patient in Port-au-Prince. Dr Ayesha Hussain and Dr. Gurbans Kaur treating patient Many patients that the medical team encountered in Haiti had never received any care beyond what was available immediately after the earthquake. The UNITED SIKHS medical team quickly setup wound care and rehabilitation services. “It was wonderful to see the excitement on the faces of the patients when they took their first steps in nearly a month” said Gurbans Kaur, a physical therapist from Chicago, Illinois. The doctors and health professionals were able to exclusively provide to the hospital a neurology service, along with rehabilitation and pain management services. The team also took charge of the adult ward at night by managing about 150 adult patients, giving other physicians a chance to sleep and get some much needed rest. “It was a tremendously humbling experience,” said Baljinder Singh, a rehabilitation physician from Chicago. Dr Ayesha Hussain and Dr Shaila Singh Dr. Sagina Kaur feeding medication to a survivor child The group teamed up with “Health Empowering Humanity”, a NGO that facilitates access to healthcare. The living conditions in Haiti make patients extremely susceptible to illness and disease. “It was astonishing to see the children that parents were bringing to us. They were so severely dehydrated that in many cases we had to scrutinize whether they are alive or not,” said Sagina Kaur, a family practice physician from Chicago and Medical Director for UNITED SIKHS. UNITED SIKHS Medical team Dr. Martha Chinna, Dr. Sagina Kaur, Dr. Saila Singh There was a voluntary staff of about 200 people who came to help. There were no egos present. Whether you were a transporter or a surgeon, everyone felt equally important to just serve the cause. The experience has not always been easy, particularly in light of the glaring lack of facilities. “At times, it could be very frustrating” added Martha Chinna, a Neurologist from Florida. “We are used to having advanced medical diagnostics such as CT scans, and at least basic blood labs. Here we operate only through our own clinical judgment.” The team also established a relationship with the University of Miami field hospital/ “Medishare” project, essentially a “make-shift” hospital that provides an emergency department, four surgical suites, an intensive care unit, a pediatric ward, and an adult ward. For many, the experience of serving those in need in Haiti has brought the teachings of Sikhism to life. “I realized how important the teaching of Guru Nanak to feed the hungry is. I’m happy I came and helped those in need with hot-meals” said Karnail Singh, Sr. V.P. Guru Nanak Gurudwara Surrey, BC, Canada. "The work we are doing brings the teaching of Guru Nanak sahib ji into direct and substantive action. I request that not just the Sikh community, but people of all backgrounds support this organization as best as they can," added Vicky Dhillon, City Counselor Brampton, Ontario. Coming home was bitter sweet for the team. “We feel like we could have had an even greater impact if we had planned for more time,” said Ayesha Hussain, a family practice physician in Toronto. Dr. Baljinder Singh added, “Our job as a medical community is now to focus on how we will make the disabled and injured of Haiti functional and contributing members of society; else we will see a second wave of problems for Haiti which will be more detrimental than the actual earthquake”. Sukhwinder Singh of Surrey, BC who has been helping out at the University of Miami hospital said, "It has been a real eye-opener. Medical school can never fully prepare you for a scenario like this. The overwhelming number of patients and the slow progress due to limited doctors and nurses is heartbreaking. Everyone is trying their best and the medical teams are giving it all they have and getting very limited rest." “What I didn’t expect is how emotionally difficult it was for us to leave our patients. Many started to cry when we told them we were leaving” said Gurbans Kaur. Shaila Singh, an occupational therapist from Rochester, New York, added, “Therapy services are immediately and desperately needed for the people of Haiti.” Karnail Singh distributing food Sukhwinder Singh cooking Langgar Sikhs youths from Guru Nanak Gurdwara Surrey, BC, Canada joined the UNITED SIKHS base camp in Port-au-Prince to serve hot-meals. The team brought gifts and toys, along with school supplies and other materials to help the survivors. The team is cooking and distributing food to affected people every day. Your donation of any amount will help save lives by providing food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support to people in need. Here are the initial impressions of the medical team arriving in Haiti and you may also click here for video. http://www.sikhnet.com/news/united-sikhs-rehabilitation-team-asked-help-plan-new-hospital-haiti

Im posting this article coz its great seva, wish I could go! A Glimpse into Haiti’s Agony from the eyes of a Volunteer Team http://www.unitedsikhs.org/blog/?p=694 2nd Feb 2010, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti: Effectively chronicling the human tragedies that have taken place in Haiti since the earthquake struck is a nearly impossible task. How is one orphan’s story any more or less distressing or significant than the thousands of others? And yet it is still necessary to do what we can to highlight specific heart-rending and also heart-warming events in an effort to provide greater context for those of us who have not witnessed the devastation firsthand. It is crucial that we do not fall into the trap of looking at Haiti’s anguish through the prism of statistics and data. The suffering is real and it touches millions. It is no less real than the suffering we see elsewhere and it does not demand any less of us as Sikhs. Haiti’s plight was enormous even before the earthquake battered its people. Poverty was extreme; good governance was absent; effective planning was lacking and its people lacked access to basic services that we usually take for granted. The earthquake has magnified all of those problems and the results have been catastrophic. The price of food has skyrocketed and the distribution of food has also been seriously disrupted. The destabilization in the food situation combined with the destabilization in the income of millions of Haitians has resulted in our mission here. Many of us have been doing what we can to listen to and console the earthquake’s victims and yet we do not lose sight of the fact that our current mission is primarily about feeding those who are hungry and providing water to those who are desperate to quench their thirst. Our team members here have all borne witness to events that they will remember for their rest of their lives. Some of these events have shaken us deeply while other events have left us with faith that the resiliency of the Haitian people will see them through this dark period. A short glimpse into Haiti’s agony was encountered right at the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The young Haitian boy A young boy, no more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to our van and before long we were skipping stones across the lake with him and trying to understand how he was personally affected by the earthquake. He told us that his entire family had been killed and that he was alone and helpless. We fed him and also provided him with a pillow and a blanket. We did our best to flag down a UNICEF bus but it went by too fast and unfortunately we had to head on to Port-Au-Prince in the hopes that someone else would help this boy. The frustration at how little we could do in that situation still frustrates us today. Charles is a little boy who is 8 years old and he comes to our camp regularly. He is let in by the United Nations Military Police who do not usually allow children into the area that we are located. The Military Police let him in because they know that we are here to take care of him and to feed him. Today we bathed him and brushed his teeth as well which he was really eager for. After his bath, he even requested that we tie a dastar (turban) on him which he happily showcased to everyone he could find! He also regularly participates in singing the keertan that is playing in the camp which we all find really inspirational. He is getting very close to and comfortable with us and all of us will be sad to let him go when we leave from here. Yesterday we took a tour around downtown Port-Au-Prince and witnessed some of the worst affected areas from the earthquake. As we approached the Presidential Palace we saw a sight that spoke so tellingly to the state of Haiti’s government. The metaphor of a destructed crumbling palace coupled with the sight of Haiti’s people standing in the forefront against a gate that protected their once gleaming White House was enough to make one stop in awe. We spoke with some of these people to find out what they were feeling and how they were coping. We found one gentleman leaning against the gate who spoke English very well and when we asked how they were feeling he said, “It is like something is broken inside us that is still not right…”. Many around him had lost family members and loved ones, though his family had been spared. They were extremely appreciative of the global community’s aid and assistance during this traumatic time. We dug a little deeper and asked for their thoughts and feelings about their government. There is a pervasive mood of dismay and abandonment amongst the people of Haiti; they feel that the government does nothing to help the people but instead only help themselves. We asked the gentleman who was translating to convey a message that we as Sikhs and Canadians were here to help in any way we could and that we would also go back home and encourage our government to continue their aid to Haiti. Down the road from us there is a makeshift hospital that we visit every day. When visiting it yesterday to drop off lunch for the hospital’s children, we witnessed the birth of a baby boy right in front of our eyes. The joy of the people at the birth of the child was stirring. Our team members were moved to be able to hold the baby in our arms. One of our team members did a short ardaas (prayer) that this newborn grow up and become a leader in growing Haiti and helping the people of his country. There are many other stories and we hope to keep you all posted! Japnaam Singh Port-Au-Prince, Haiti Posted in Sikh Aid • Tags: Canada, GHANAIA, Haiti, Port-Au-Prince, Sikh Aid, sikhs, Vancouver • Top Of Page

My Doc sent letter saying I can get the vaccine, I think I shall risk getting Swine Flu!

I just saw this blog showing Sikhs giving Langar in Haiti. WOW finally we are really giving langar to people who need it and not just feeding our own community. http://www.justsikh.com/blog/inspiration/haiti-earthquake-survivors-get-hot-meals-united-sikhs-aid-start-serving-langgar Haiti Earthquake Survivors Get Hot Meals As UNITED SIKHS AID Start Serving Langgar Port-au-Prince, Haiti : UNITED SIKHS' second volunteer team arrived at Port-au-Prince yesterday and started serving langgar (the Sikh tradition of serving hot meals cooked in a community kitchen) to survivors of the earthquake. Harcharan Singh and Amritpaul Singh, both from Brampton, Canada, arrived earlier this week to join the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti. The volunteers purchased food, water and supplies in two 20 feet trucks before heading to the UNITED SIKHS AID camp in Haiti. Despite the immensely difficult travel, the volunteers did not rest until they had prepared and served hot meals to about 500 survivors. Volunteers setting tent in Port-au-Prince Harcharan Singh preparing Food Amritpaul Singh Cooking Meals "We were tired after spending 30 hours on the road, but did not want to rest until we had cooked and served our first hot meals to earthquake survivors" said Harcharan Singh, UNITED SIKHS AID Langgar in-charge. "My family and Sikh community have supported me to come and serve here. I am happy that I was able to live up to my faith and expectations." He added. "After seeing the magnitude of disaster I forgot all my pain. Here, everyone needs help. Countless survivors with serious injuries are hungry and waiting for food. I could not think of anything else but to cook hot meals and serve them," said Amritpaul Singh, UNITED SIKHS Aid volunteer. "We believe it's a clear sign of progress when we see the quantity of supplies that relief agencies are pouring in. I am thankful to UNITED SIKHS for serving hot-meals to our people. It is a noble cause," said a member of the interior ministry of Haiti in a meeting with Lt Col Gurbachan Singh. Earlier this week, the United Nations appealed to NGOs on the ground for immediate medical supplies. UNITED SIKHS base camp in Port-au-Prince Volunteers cooking hot meals Earthquake Survivors waiting in Line for Hot meals UNITED SIKHS Aid team with UN armed forces in Port-au-Prince Recovery would be faster if there were more ways to get aid into the country, including the reopening of the city's seaport. However, UNITED SIKHS is sending food and emergency supplies from Miami using all possible means of air and sea routes, in addition to ground transport from other regions. Four more volunteers of UNITED SIKHS AID team are flying in for the relief effort today. Our second medical team will also reach there soon to provide additional medical assistance. We thank all donors, individuals, Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), and volunteers who have been supporting us on the relief effort. Your donation of any amount could help save lives by providing food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support to people in need. Issued by: Kuldip Singh Director UNITED SIKHS sikhaid@unitedsikhs.org Ph: 1-888-243-1690 or 1-646-688-3525

Can I get some to please. what is cost?