The world is slowly getting back to normal after living in the COVID-19 pandemic turmoil for almost two years. It won’t be wrong to say that this was the toughest time of our lives and nobody will like to live like that ever in the future. In India also, people experienced many problems during the pandemic but the pain and agony of losing the loved ones was unbearable. Even though the government and authorities tried their best to provide medical assistance to the COVID-19 patients, this lethal virus still took many lives.
However, we also need to look at the other aspect of this pandemic as our society emerged as stronger than ever and invincible against this global pandemic, making the whole world realize that the Indians are courageous, dynamic and generous people who wear their hearts on their sleeves.
On one hand where doctors, nurses and medical staff members risked their lives in this fight while treating the COVID-19 patients and then the police department along with the administration was on the roads to ensure that nobody came out of their houses during the lockdown, there were few humanitarians who ensured that the poor and needy got all the assistance that they needed for survival in these tough times.
Raunak Singh, the founder of NGO Sikh Aid, is one of those selfless humanitarians who did their best to serve the humanity. Raunak Singh who hails from Cuttack, Odisha, was involved in social work even before COVID-19 struck but when he saw that the migrant workers were forced to walk on foot for reaching their native places during the lockdown, he was grieved to the core of his heart. The first thing that he did was offering food to the migrant workers and their family members and then he made arrangements for transportation so that they could reach their native places safely.
Raunak Singh founded his NGO Sikh Aid in this period with the intention that he could widen his reach and help maximum number of people through the volunteers as well. Apart from distributing ration kits to the poor and needy, he and his team also provided them with masks, sanitizers and medicines to ensure their good health. During the second wave, Raunak Singh emerged as a messiah for many as he provided oxygen cylinders and concentrators to the hospitals and saved lives of around 10,000 people.
The efforts made by Raunak Singh for saving the lives of people during COVID-19 were huge and he and many other people like him are Corona warriors in true sense as they also put their lives at stake by coming out of their houses and helping people in the times when many were not even letting their relatives enter their house without serving quarantine.
The noble work done by Raunak Singh has been recognized and he has been bestowed with the Corona Warrior Award 2021 by Times Applaud. Raunak Singh certainly deserves the appreciation and applauds for the great work that he did throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and honouring such heroes is the need of the hour as it will motivate him further for increasing the range of his social work.
He and his team are also involved in various other noble acts such as providing free food and education to the poor kids. Besides it, he is also assisting rural girls and women in managing their hygiene by providing sanitary pads free of cost, thus saving them from various diseases, some of which can be life-taking as well.
Raunak Singh has stood firmly with the people of his city and state whenever a natural calamity has struck them, he has taken care of their food, home and other aspects of living to such an extent that people of Odisha consider him as their own son. Sikh Aid which has been founded on the basis of Sikh principles, “Naam Japo, Kirat Karo, Vandh Chakho” is now operating all over the country and working for welfare of the needy.
We wish that Raunak Singh receives many more awards and sets an example for others! The world needs more heroes like him to save humanity!
