Moninder Singh spent the last week serving food and drinks at a Gurdwara – a Sikh temple – in Covina, California, to hungry victims displaced by the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires.
“When we serve chai, people’s faces shine as if we are giving them gold. The pleasure in their eyes calms me,” Singh said. “We plan to make samosas tomorrow.”
Asian Americans are the third largest racial group in Los Angeles and the most religiously diverse group in the United States. This diversity, however, is working in unison to lend a hand to the thousands of victims of Southern California’s wildfires, the worst in history. of the state.
Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Taoists, Muslims, Jews and more are all raising money by volunteering in various ways to bring relief to their fellow Angelenos.
Singh is a member of United Sikhs, a U.N.-affiliated faith group that in the past has been deployed to disaster zones — following Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, for example — as well as war zones in Ukraine. This time, the group turned their attention to the devastated Los Angeles area.
United Sikhs is one of several organizations across the country that have visited the region as the fires continue to rage. tens of thousands of acres.
For Mehul Patel, a volunteer at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Chino Hills, it’s the concept of Sevaor selfless service, which motivates him to serve his community.
“In the joy of others lies our own,” Patel said, attributing this philosophy to the group’s late president, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
“This is the motto that drives us, the spirit of Seva and service is rooted in our faith,” Patel said.
Volunteers from the group began mobilizing within 24 hours of the fires starting, he said.
They held their first donation drive on Jan. 9, collecting water, first aid kits and sleeping bags, and bringing them to disaster relief organizations in Pasadena.
Now, the Hindu organization has its own fundraising operation to support victims in their recovery efforts, the #SOCALSTRONG Wildfire Relief and Recovery Fund.
“We receive donations from all over the world. It really shows the global impact that the city of Los Angeles has had, and people genuinely want to support this effort because of these dire circumstances,” Patel told NBC News.
The belief in Seva and selflessly serving those in need is also a guiding philosophy of the United Sikhs international group.
“This is rooted in the Sikh faith, Seva is selfless service. We have spoken for those who have no voice, fought for the most vulnerable and aided and abetted those who cannot help themselves,” said Gurvinder Singh, Humanitarian Director international at United Sikhs, who is not related to Moninder Singh.
The organization’s hotline, called “Umeed,” primarily receives calls from people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
Although many people are in need, Singh told NBC News that there are also many who want to volunteer.
Moninder Singh of United Sikhs has already contributed to disaster relief during Hurricane Helene.
In India, where he lived until four months ago, he owned five restaurants. He lost everything during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“God sent me among these people,” Moninder Singh said.
The Sikh group served more than 1,300 meals on Sunday, Gurvinder Singh said.
“Not counting snacks, emergency supplies and clothing. These are just hot meals that are part of Langar, free meals for anyone served in the Gurdwaras,” he said.
He hopes that when people see someone wearing a turban or having the word “Sikh” written on their clothing, they will know they are going to be helped.
Tzu Chi USA, a Buddhist nonprofit, also mobilized its members, collecting donations and supplies for disaster relief and holding an interfaith prayer Jan. 7 at their San Gabriel Valley service center.
Local churches have also been at the forefront of disaster relief. Justin Chang is the community outreach minister at Mandarin Baptist Church in Los Angeles, a multicultural church offering services in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
“A few members were affected, some lost their homes, and we tried to figure out how to help them,” Chang said.
According to Chang, the international humanitarian organization World Vision contacted his church when it was looking for organizations that could help the group distribute supplies in the Los Angeles area.
Chang told NBC News that on Saturday they were able to help 10 families through their distribution campaign by handing out blankets, water, school supplies, toys, hygiene kits, socks and masks.
“Some members of our church are wealthier and can stay with friends and family. But some have lost everything and so are taking everything they need,” Chang said.
In the case of Masjid Al-Taqwa, a Sunni Muslim mosque in Altadena, California, all was lost.
The mosque, which has been a pillar of its community since the 1970s, was a victim of the Eaton Fire on January 7.
Jihad Saafir, the mosque’s former imam and community partner, said the mosque was a vital community center, founded by African-American Muslims from the Nation of Islam before transitioning to mainstream Sunni practice in 1975.
The imam said the prayer service brought together people of all faiths. “You have an Egyptian family praying next to a Pakistani family, praying next to a Bangladeshi family and praying next to a black family. It’s a diverse community.
A crowdfunding campaign on the online platform LaunchGood was organized by members of the local and international Muslim community. The organization has now raised more than $700,000 to restore the mosque, which was the first mosque in the Pasadena area.
The campaign has also attracted attention online, including from prominent Muslim voices in the United States.
“It’s beautiful to see everyone coming together, this community is a community of light,” Saafir said.
“This is a temporary setback for a great comeback, I have faith, and many people support Masjid Al Taqwa.”
