Be it assisting in disaster relief operations or helping victims of war, Khalsa Aid, a UK based non-profit organisation, is always at the forefront. Known for their selfless service of humanity, volunteers from the Sikh organisation have extended humanitarian support in rebuilding lives across the world.

And this time around, when "extremely severe"cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ hit Odisha, Khalsa Aid was quick to reach Puri, one of the worst affected areas, and carry out relief operations. As the cyclone made landfall in Puri, the temple town witnessed maximum damage with the highest number of deaths. Many are struggling for food and drinking water, and lack of power supply has left water pumps defunct.

“The founding principle of the organisation is, “Recognise the whole human race as ONE.” Going by our motto, we are motivated to work in disaster areas irrespective of faith, religion, colour, caste or creed. ..To see helpless cyclone victims value even a single drop of water, a handful of rice with hope in their eyes and smile on their faces is our biggest motivation,” says Amarpreet Singh, Director of Khalsa Aid India.

At present, Singh says, around 15 volunteers are working round the clock, covering the worst affected villages in the Puri district.

Cyclone Fani relief INDIA....Our @khalsaaid_india team is providing nutritious hot meals to 1000s of those affected by #CycloneFani in several locations ... @amarpreet1313 To Donate: https://t.co/KDtNwLPEPC pic.twitter.com/BwNSRywbWB — Khalsa Aid (@Khalsa_Aid) May 7, 2019

“We have set up our base 60-70 kms away from Puri. We prepare everything there and take the meals in mobile kitchens, which travel to different villages and distribute food,” says Singh.

The non-availability of drinking water is one of the biggest challenges for volunteers. The Director of Khalsa Aid India says they had to purchase 50,000 litres of water from Kolkata as the water in local markets was rendered unfit for drinking after the storm.

Cyclone Fani (Odisha): @Khalsa_Aid team is in Puri preparing fresh hot meals for the victims of cyclone Fani. The local Gurudwara Sahib along with local volunteers are assisting our team in the preparations. #khalsaaid #sewa #Odisha #cyclonefani @AkbaruddinIndia @arrahman pic.twitter.com/YIL5ocqW8e — Amarpreet Singh (@amarpreet1313) May 6, 2019

As phone services are down, coordination across teams is also proving difficult. But despite the challenges, the volunteers are doing their best to help the cyclone victims.

Khalsa Aid’s humanitarian gesture has earned them appreciation on social media.

Here they come, our super heroes Bole so nihaal sat shri akal 🙏🙏🙏 — Gurvinder Singh‏ ‏گروندر سنگھ (@iofficialguri) May 6, 2019

Keep it up brothers.where some people are only creating hatred with their tweets. Seeing u people I realise still peace and love is there — raji (@mumbaipersians) May 7, 2019