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Sikhs mark
gurpurab with blood donation drive in
Greenwood
WSN Network
GREENWOOD:
Members of Greenwood's Sikh sangat donated blood Sunday with a dual
purpose: to help save lives and to honor a religious martyr. Members
of the Gurdwara at 1050 S. Graham Road gave blood to a mobile unit
of the Indiana Blood Center in honor of Guru Arjan Dev Ji who was
tortured and killed after refusing to convert to Islam in 1606 in
Punjab, India.
By donating his
body, he became a "supreme divine donor," said Chanchal Singh, 38.
Special prayers were held Friday through Sunday at the Gurdwara, and
some Sikh members across the country annually donate blood in the
guru's honor in June. Sunday's drive was the first for the Greenwood
Gurdwara, which opened in 2007 with 400 to 500 members.
Amarjit Singh,
44, prayed in the guru's honor as he gave blood Sunday, and he hopes
those prayers will improve the blood, physically and spiritually.
Beenu Sikand,
38, a real estate agent who helped found the
Greenwood
gurdwara, said the majority of its members are truck drivers who
came from California. Two other Sikh gurdwaras are in Indianapolis,
one on Southeastern Avenue, in the Acton area, and the other on
Hobart Road, near Beech Grove.
As per the
GreenwoodStar.com, Greenwood Mayor Charles Henderson said the Sikhs
have been a welcome addition to the community. He said the Sikh
members have brought their culture to
Greenwood and
have adapted to the community.
He stopped by
the blood drive Sunday after going to his own church, First Baptist
of Greenwood. Like members of the Sikh congregation, he was asked to
cover his hair out of respect. Wearing a bandanna that Sikh members
wrapped around his head, the mayor spent an hour chatting and posing
for pictures. Sikand said members were eager to meet the mayor.
"This is for a
really good cause,"
Henderson said
of the drive.
Sikh members
agree. Narinber Singh, 40, said he was glad to "do something good"
that he hopes will save lives. Palwinder Singh, 31, said giving
blood made him realize everyone is the same, whether Sikh or
Christian, black, Indian or white. "Everybody is equal."
Steve Moore,
coordinator of the drive for the blood center, said donations have
been low across the state and he's glad the Sikh members are
helping. The
Indiana
Blood
Center
must collect 550 pints of blood every day, but
Moore
said the center has had trouble reaching that number. He said one
pint of blood can save three lives, but only 5 percent of the
population gives blood.
About 30 Sikh
members gave blood Sunday, maxing out the bloodmobile's capacity.
Moore
said that's rare, and he wants to bring two bloodmobiles next year.
An estimated
2,000 Sikh families have settled in the small communities and
suburban neighborhoods south of
Indianapolis,
most in the past two years. This was the
Greenwood
congregation's first drive, and members hope to make it an annual
event.
25
June, 2008
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