Sewa Day brings joy to Bradford

Thousands of people from across the UK took part in a special event on 14 October, where they dedicated their time to improve the life of others.

Called the Sewa Day, the event in Bradford saw around 100 volunteers engaging in 10 projects with an aim to uplift the living condition of those around them.

For instance, volunteers – aged from four years to 70 - took part in a food and clothing collection drive in association with Bradford Food Bank and Curry Project where they helped in collecting 1.3 tons of food and over 48 bags of clothing.

Harkishan Mistry, a local co-ordinator from Bradford, pointed out that more than 70 per cent of the volunteers were under 25 years of age, which clearly demonstrated the hunger and drive youngsters to have to give back to the community.

“The response from the community to food and cloth collection was fantastic, this year we collected around 1.3 tons of Food (Half ton last year) and over 48 bags of clothing,” noted Mistry.

Praising the Sewa Day event for reaching out to those in need, Sam Singh, on behalf of Bradford Curry Project, said, “The Bradford Curry Project would like to thank the amazing generous donations raised by the Bradford Sewa Day events across the region. In these testing times for the Curry Project, this donation will go a long way to helping the Project reach out to more of the needy in Bradford! Thank you.”

Francis Atkins, on behalf of Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank, said: “It is difficult to always have enough food to help around 1,000 people in need every month. The need is greater than ever before. Thank you for including us in your Sewa Day. We could not manage without help from people like yourselves. Many thanks to the Hindu people of Bradford.”

Volunteers also took part in giving a facelift to the Thornton Community Centre by painting the main entrance, toilets and kitchen and they helped put the marquee and gazebos up at the Bowling Park Community Orchard.