COVID-19 has certainly affected our lives in an adverse manner but there are some people who are leaving no stone unturned in helping others without caring for themselves. Raunak Singh born on 26 August, 1996 in Cuttack, Odisha, is one such individual who is just 25 years old but at such a young age, he has brought smiles on many faces by helping those whom he is not even acquainted with.
Raunak Singh is B.Com graduate and he religiously follows the teachings of the Sikh Gurus as per which helping others selflessly is the best way of worshipping the God. He has always been of helping nature; initially he used to work as the one man army and his main motive was to introduce the donors and the needy persons with each other and sometimes, Raunak himself gave the donations to help the poor. Many times he visited government-run schools, distributed stationary items to the students and motivated them to work hard not just for making their own future bright but also for helping others.
Raunak is the founder of an NGO named Sikh Aid which is pretty much active in providing food to the hungry, helping underprivileged kids in getting education, providing free healthcare and medical facilities to the poor people, etc. He founded this NGO during the first wave of COVID-19 as numerous people suffered in this period; while there were a number of persons who went jobless, many lost their loved ones to the lethal virus.
Moreover, the whole nation was in tears when people saw that migrant workers had to walk on roads with their family members and luggage for going to their native places. The lockdown was imposed in a sudden manner by the government as it was necessary to stop the spreading of coronavirus but it created many problems for the poor migrant workers who didn’t have much savings to survive in the big cities and no transportation medium was available due to the lockdown. When Raunak Singh saw these migrant workers and their families in such poor condition, he made up mind to do something for them. First of all, he provided them with food and subsequently arranged buses for these workers so that they could reach their native place without any further difficulty.
Raunak Singh worked very hard during the second wave of COVID-19 because it was more harmful than the first one. The virus got stronger and more lethal in the second wave and the situation was so bad that the COVID-19 positive patients were finding it difficult to get a bed in hospitals which were completely packed with patients. There was a time when situation was so severe that hospitals ran out of oxygen because of which numerous lives were at stake. In such times, Raunak emerged as the savior for many people as he provided oxygen cylinders and concentrators to the hospitals of Odisha which eventually resulted in saving around 10,000 lives which could be lost due to oxygen shortage.
The people of Cuttack and Odisha love this young boy immensely and they also contribute as per their capability to help Raunak Singh do noble deeds. Raunak’s NGO Sikh Aid now works nationwide as a number of people have joined him and he has a big team which is constantly engaged in working for the welfare of the needy.
What makes Raunak Singh more admirable is the fact that at an age when the youngsters are busy in partying, dating, shopping and other fun activities, he has devoted himself for making lives better of the downtrodden. It won’t be hyperbole to say that what he has done during the COVID-19 pandemic is just amazing and it has made him a hero of many.
We sincerely hope that people, especially the youth, get motivated and inspired by him so that we can create a world full of happiness.
