Fire destroys home of active Medan lady sewadar, donation drive launched

By Asia Samachar Team | INDONESIA |

A Sikh family actively involved in a Medan gurdwara seva (service) lost their only family home in a fire on Tuesday (1 Oct).

The 8pm fire raged through a densely populated housing area in Jalan Gang Pasir in Medan.

Penji Manney, as she is commonly known amongs the Medan Sikh Sanggat, regularly helps out in cooking the Guru Ka Langgar in gurdwaras in Medan.

The single mother lost her only home and all her belongings that was completely burned to ashes. While the source and cause of fire is not known yet, the fire is believed to have spread from a neighbour’s house. As many as 44 houses were destroyed in the fire.

“I lost the only home I had. The raging fire spread so fast that we could not save any belongings,” she told Asia Samachar.

A group of Sikhs have launched a donation drive to assist Manney. The cost of building back her house is estimated to be between Rp250 million to Rp350 million (approximately between RM80,000 to RM100,000 or S$24,000 to S$34,000)

For more information on how you can help, please call Dill Raaj Singh/Harbinder Singh from Jakarta (+62-8118891993) or Kirpal Singh from Penang, Malaysia (+6016-4145848).

Asia Samachar has verified the incident through Kirpal Singh, an active Sikh sevadar with Sikhs Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM) Penang. We will publish updates on the response to the appeal at an appropriate juncture.