Kind-hearted worshippers from the Sri Dasmesh Sikh Temple in Birmingham have been named as charity champions after raising over £25,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity to help fund new life-saving equipment.

At the height of the pandemic, Lozells-based temple-goers Rajinder Singh Beghal, Kulwant Singh Gora and Ram Lubhaya Saglani, pulled together in an appeal to the Sikh community for donations as part of a wider initiative that has seen the temple donate over £101,000 to support NHS heroes across the region.

Having donated the temple’s existing charitable funds to other local NHS Trusts, passionate temple committee member Rajinder enlisted the help of his 16-year-old granddaughter, Reeha, to help set up a GoFundMe page that would help Sri Dasmesh Sikh Temple raise funds for its next recipient, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

Rajinder knew he could count on members of the gurdwara’s generous community to donate what they could, so with the help of Kulwant and Ram, he began calling their fellow committee members, worshipers, families and friends across the UK, to ask if they would like to contribute.

Before long the worshippers’ hard work had paid off and they were able to present the impressive £25,000 sum to the charity, which will fund the purchase of two new dialysis machines for the hospital’s Renal Unit, to help children whose kidneys don’t function as they should.

The temple’s president, Gurnam Singh Beghal was joined by committee members to welcome special guests Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE, and Dr Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India , to present the cheques to the charity.

Rajinder said: “One of the key principles of Sikhism is that of sharing your wealth so when the pandemic began, we at Sri Dasmesh Sikh Temple felt it was our duty to show that our community would stand with the country in this time of need.  We hope our contribution will go on to change lives for the better at this time and for many years to come.”

Matt Mangan, Director of Philanthropy at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone from the Sri Dasmesh Sikh Temple. This year has been exceptionally difficult for everyone, especially the NHS and our young patients, and it’s so heartening to know that we are held in such affection and that our work is valued and supported locally.

“We look forward to a time when we are able to safely welcome representatives from the temple to our hospital to meet our families and see the impact that their gift has had.”

If you would like to donate to Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, you can do so here.