Gurudwara in Dubai celebrates 10th anniversary

- January 19, 2022 , by Maagulf

Dubai: Gurudwara Nanak Darbar Gurudwara was officially inaugurated in the year 2012 and celebrated its 10th anniversary on 16th January 2022.

The 10th anniversary celebrations were carried out with an Interfaith Humanitarian program in line with the 50th year of the UAE, and 75 years of Indian Independence by distributing water flasks.

The Interfaith Humanitarian Project was started and encouraged by Rob Bateman in 2015. It is a joint initiative between Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara Dubai and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the UAE, It is now undertaken every year in his memory by providing thousands of impoverished people with the basic essentials of life.

The Guests of Honour HE Dr. Aman Puri Consul General, Consulate General of India Dubai, HE Major-General Ahmed Khalfan Al Mansouri, International Institute of Tolerance Dubai, President Scott Halverson, Second Counselor in the Abu Dhabi Stake Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Elder David and Sister Judy Kirkham, representing Latter-day Saint Charities, distributed flasks to around 5000 blue-collared workers at the Guru Nanak Darbar.

Our community is highly honoured and indebted to His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice president and Prime minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for his kind and thoughtful generosity in granting permission and allocating land for the noble cause of building a Sikh place of worship in Dubai.

Since its opening Gurudwara has served Langar free to over 8 million visitors. The food in the Gurudwara kitchen is made under the stern guidelines of ISO22000, to ensure safety for all.

It is the first Gurudwara in the World to receive ISO Certification:

9001:2015 – 14001:2015 – 22000:2015 & 45001:2018

Even during the pandemic Gurudwara welcomed visitors adhering to all the safety norms of the COVID restrictions assuring all precautionary measures and safety guidelines were adhered to, ensuring the safety of all, said Dr. Surender Singh Kandhari.

Dr. Bubbles Kandhari, the Vice-Chairperson of Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara thanked the volunteers from various communities who always have been supporting all activities of the Gurudwara selflessly. She said the Gurudwara has also been hosting Women’s Day since 2017. It is the first time in history and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara is the first to commemorate all the women in Sikh history where women from across the UAE get together to pray for the wellbeing of all mankind, cook and distribute food to serve humanity and carry out the entire activity at the Gurudwara, encouraging more women to participate in the women’s day program.

In the last two years of this unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, the Dubai Gurudwara has done very significant contribution, along with other Indian associations and other associations, supporting not only Indian nationals but also all other residents of the UAE.

The Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara serves as a Community centre and welcomes one and all irrespective of any caste and creed.

True to its vision, the Gurudwara holds Iftar during Ramadan since 2012 and during this period there is an exchange of thoughts, philosophies as well as culture among the communities of all religions.
Gurudwara organizes Blood Donation Camp regularly. In 2018, Blood Donation Camp more than 300 blood donor volunteers participated.
This temple is also engaged in other community services like holding marriages, birthdays and other important occasions by many faiths.
The temple is a highly in-demand wedding venue for couples coming from Europe, the Americas and the Far East.
To develop religious values among the next generation of Sikhs in the diaspora, special three-hour sessions are held for children on Saturdays at the Gurdwara where they are taught Punjabi, Kirtan and Gurdara protocol. Gurbani Santhiya Classes are also held at Gurdwara Sahib for Adults.
When the rulers of UAE decided to celebrate the 14 September 2017 as UN International Day of Peace Celebration, the Gurudwara participated in it.
3 February 2016, World Inter-Faith Harmony Day (WIHD) - WIHD is the inaugural UAE interfaith conference under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Community Development and under the umbrella of the United Nations' World Interfaith Harmony Week. Hosted by Gurudwara and co-organized with Prof. Nasr Arif and Dr. Brian J. Adams. The event brought together local and international leaders from faith groups, universities, businesses, NGOs, and public institutions that discussed the contribution of faith traditions and explored ways to work together in building strong families and building peace in the world.

Labor Day Appreciation Event – On 29 April 2016, 750 pcs of blankets were given to laborers in Al Dar Camp in Abu Dhabi. On 28 April 2017, 6300 mugs were given to laborers in Al Raha Operatives Village also in Abu Dhabi. On 4 May 2018, 7500 bags were given to laborers in Al Raha Operatives Village Abu Dhabi. All these events were under the patronage of HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance UAE

Cutting across the national, religious boundaries, the GND distributed more than 1000 blankets to people of Somalia bearing all the additional costs of shipping and distribution.

To mark the occasion of 550 years, Gurudwara sponsored a series of events including a musical performance of 550 kids singing religious hymns of various faiths. This was enthusiastically appreciated by thousands who came to attended the program.

During COVID -19 Pandemic Gurudwara successfully arranged the first ever chartered flight for the people stranded in the United Arab Emirates to Amritsar. Since June 25th 2020, 15 flights were successfully chartered to Chandigarh and Amritsar helping around 3000 plus stranded people in the UAE to reunite them back with their families.

Gurudwara has distributed 150,000 kgs of raw food and 50,000 packets of cooked food to the needy and the blue collared labourers at the labour camps and quarantine centres, in all the seven Emirates of the UAE to help them during the crisis of Covid-19 since March till date. Also distributed around 30,000 Iftar meals during the holy month of Ramadan.

Hygiene kits, toiletries, anti-bacterial hand wash and sanitisers were also distributed to various labour camps, with awareness videos being circulated to the local communities.

Guru Nanak Darbar Dubai hosted a three-day coronavirus vaccination drive in the month of February and March 2021 for the first and second dose respectively. Only Sikh place of worship in the entire world to take this community initiative. In a three-day vaccination drive organised by Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara over 5000 residents of UAE were administered the Sinopharm COVID vaccine.

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara has also sent liquid oxygen containers and 750 oxygen concentrators to various states of India during humanitarian crisis of unprecedented nature the country was facing. Also donated an ambulance to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, (PGIMER) Chandigarh, Punjab.