Prime minister Rishi Sunak on Monday (7) helped prepare meals in a community kitchen along with volunteers as visited the charity Go Dharmic in London.
Sunak helped make vegan kichari, a nutritious and affordable meal that is part of Go Dharmic’s “feed everyone” initiative.
The prime minister spoke to Go Dharmic volunteers who assembled food parcels as he cut vegetables and stirred the contents of the hot meal in the kitchen.
The organisation has a global network of 10,000 volunteers and they are known for their campaigns in environmental action, poverty alleviation, education, plant-based and organic diets and crisis response.
Go Dharmic has five offices in London, Glasgow, Ahmedabad and Kolkata in India and Georgia in the US.
Its co-founder, Hanuman Dass, said, “We are deeply moved by the prime minister’s service with Go Dharmic and his willingness to join hands with our volunteers.
“He has a genuine interest in dharma (duty) and our mission of compassion in action.
“This profound act of kindness by the leader of the nation will inspire more seva (service) and more volunteers for many years to come.”
In November 2023, Sunak awarded Go Dharmic founders Dass and Sheena Randerwala the Points of Light award, during Diwali.
At Monday’s event, several Go Dharmic trustees and lead volunteers from across the UK, including central London, Wembley, Luton, Harrow, Northampton, Leicester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, highlighted the organisation’s social impact, collectively serving over 50,000 meals a month to vulnerable individuals in their communities.
Dass told Eastern Eye, “The prime minister asked volunteers about their motive to serve in the kitchen, serve communities, and understand Go Dharmic’s activities.
“He also congratulated all the volunteers for their service to humanity and needy people. For us, his visit is very special and encourages us to do our activities more and more widely.”
As Britain’s first Hindu prime minister, Sunak spoke about the idea of dharma when he took charge at Downing Street in October 2022.
Go Dharmic said it has distributed 22 million meals worldwide; and helped support more than a 100 schools in India. Its efforts have helped 8,900 children through education, sanitation, and food campaigns.
It has also distributed 10,000 hot meals in Kyiv, Ukraine, and helped with initial evacuation efforts, by supplying food, medicine and hygiene packs to refugees fleeing the war-torn country.
Go Dharmic has also led campaigns across the UK, India, Nepal, Morocco, Lebanon, Uganda, Nigeria, Cuba, USA, Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Australia.
Monks sit on a stage next to portraits of tsunami victims as people take part in an interfaith ceremony at the Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Memorial Park in southern Thai province of Phang Nga on December 26, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
