Posted: Mon 11/14/22 11:03AM Updated
Photo: Facebook/Turbans 4 Australia Singh, 41, is the founder and president of Turbans 4 Australia, a charity that helps those facing economic hardship, food insecurity, homelessness and those affected by natural disasters people.
Melbourne: Indian-born Sikh Amar Singh has been awarded the NSW Australian of the Year for supporting communities affected by floods, bushfires, drought and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singh, 41, is the founder and president of Turbans 4 Australia, a charitable organisation that helps people facing financial hardship, food insecurity, homelessness and those affected by natural disasters.
“Our President & Founder was named a NSW Local Hero this week! We couldn’t be more proud of you Amar,” Turbans 4 Australia tweeted last week.
A press release from the New South Wales (NSW) government said Singh, who founded the charity in 2015, had been racially abused and insulted for his Sikh turban and beard.
“A colleague once told me that I looked like a terrorist. While simply talking about my day-to-day life, strangers on the street asked me if I was carrying a bomb, or what I was hiding under my hood,” Singh said. is a strong advocate of multiculturalism and interfaith dialogue, he said.
“I hope Australians see Sikhs as someone they can trust and turn to when needed,” he added.
Singh, who moved to Australia as a teenager, said he had a passion for community service from an early age.
Every week, Singh and his organisation pack and distribute up to 450 food and grocery baskets to people facing food insecurity in Western Sydney.
They are also delivering hay to drought-stricken farmers; delivering supplies to flood victims in Lismore and those affected by bushfires on the south coast; food and food for isolated and vulnerable people hampered during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Singh and his team also educate people about the Sikh community in cities across Australia through their Hijab festivals.
“By putting people in hijabs we create an opportunity to chat without fellow Australians and show them there’s nothing scary about our turbans and beards,” Singh said on his community website.
He was awarded an Order of Liverpool (Honours) in 2021.
In the past, Singh has volunteered during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Invictus Games and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Established in 1960, the Australian of the Year Awards recognizes a group of highly respected Australians who have sparked discussion and change on issues of national importance.
In addition to Singh, there are four other winners from New South Wales who will join other state winners at the National Awards Ceremony in Canberra on 25 January 2023.
