Ravinder "Ravi" Singh (born 16 September 1969
) is a
British-Indian
British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India.
Currently, the British Indian population exceeds 2 million people in the UK, making them the single largest visible ethnic minority populatio ...
humanitarian and founder and CEO of the
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
international non-profit aid and relief organization
Khalsa Aid
Khalsa Aid, founded in 1999, is a UK based international non profit humanitarian organization providing support to victims of natural and man made disasters around the world. The organization has been acknowledged for providing relief during 201 ...
.
Career
Ravi has been working as a Sikh humanitarian since 1999, when he had the idea of taking the ideals of the Khalsa, to regions of the world that needed it the most with the hope that it will help to rekindle people’s trust in humanity.
Ravi shot to fame in the UK in 2014 when he mobilized his charity to help the people of
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
after heavy rain and high winds caused huge amounts of damage to property and land. Later that year the people of Somerset nominated him to appear on the national hit TV show 'Surprise Surprise' as a way of saying thank you for his support. He received a family holiday and a new car.
In 2015 Ravi helped the people of Nepal after an earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 25,000. He encouraged his newly made friends from Somerset to help.
The BBC made a film about Ravi in 2016 titled 'The Selfless Sikh' which documented his journey to northern Iraq, where he provides aid to
Yazidi
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...
families who have fled their homes to escape the brutality of
Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
.
The film follows Singh into the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan as he delivers aid to Yazidi refugees in makeshift camps, barely 70 kilometres from the IS stronghold of Mosul.
In 2016 Ravi's team assisted motorists stranded in the Dover traffic chaos by delivering 6000 water bottles. Some travelers spent up to 15 hours at a standstill on the M20. Ravi was praised widely on social media. Ravi Singh also stepped in to provide relief to flood victims in multiple Indian states impacted in the
2019 Indian floods.
Awards and recognition
Sep 2018: Received 'The Award Of Excellence and Achievement' by the Punjabi Society Of British Isles at a ceremony in the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
.
May 2018: He refused the ‘Indian of the Year’ Award nomination for his humanitarian contributions because he does not identify himself as an Indian but as a Punjabi/Khalsa.
Dec 2017: Honoured with the Bhagat Singh Thind Community Empowerment Award at a national gala dinner in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
USA.
Sep 2017: Received the 'International Sensation Award' at Darpan Awards ceremony in
Surrey, Canada.
Dec 2014: Awarded 'Sikh of the Year 2014' at an award ceremony in
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
See also
*
List of British Sikhs
This is a list of notable Sikhs from the United Kingdom.
Academia and education
*Harjinder Singh Dilgeer – National Professor of Sikh History. Director of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, SGPC Sikh History Research Board and author o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Ravi
1969 births
Living people
People educated by school in Berkshire
People from Slough
Yazidi
British Sikhs