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Written Evidence Submitted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus (MRS0500

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Written Evidence Submitted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus (MRS0500 Written evidence submitted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus (MRS0500 Introduction There are more than one million1 people that identify as Hindu in the UK, supported by over five hundred organisations including at least two hundred mandirs2 (temples) and hundreds of spiritual, religious and educational establishments across the UK. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of mandirs and local community organisations results in a number of challenges for access to and the provision of faith-based services and activities for the Hindu community. In many cases, these institutions are focal points of the community that provide comfort for elderly members and much-needed space for companionship, as well as support for families and education for children. The government must consider access, communication and funding for some of these groups as it develops its response to supporting faith groups and charities. There has also been a concerted effort on the part of the community to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 virus head-on. With individual efforts by mandirs and community groups, most of which are charities with an existing volunteer base, the dharmic community is playing an active role to support the needy, vulnerable and those who are on the front line. In addition to this, a coalition of Hindu organisations have come together to set up a permanent emergency response unit to meet the needs of the most at-risk groups in the UK, called the Hindu Emergency Action Response Team (HEART). They include Hindu Forum of Britain, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK and Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK all supporting Sewa Day UK as a frontline voluntary service organisation. These groups and others such as BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha are all putting volunteers in harm’s-way to protect their own communities and others, and will require some support from the government to continue their work. This brief has been created by the APPG for British Hindus Secretariat for the HEART team. Based on survey responses and conversations with thirty-seven mandirs and community groups (see appendix), this brief lays out an overview of: ● The Hindu community's response to COVID-19; ● The key risks and challenges it faces over the next few months ● Recommendations on provisions, funding and support the community requires to continue providing faith-based and other support COVID-19 response; volunteering projects and community outreach The dharmic community is providing leadership to support both its members and the wider UK population through a range of volunteering and community outreach. Most temples and local groups are collecting donations, making phone calls to the vulnerable and elderly, delivering medicine and food and supporting their local NHS. 70% of the survey respondents have said that they have between 10-50 vetted volunteers, with the remainder being able to provide over 500 volunteers for community outreach and support. The following notable nation-wide initiatives are running solely on community donations, whilst supporting communities across the UK: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Connect and Care ● Nationwide initiative supported by over 500 volunteers to stay connected with and serve the community, particularly the elderly, expectant mothers and those in self- isolation ● Government guidelines and communications summarised and translated in English and Gujarati for the community ● Dedicated network of volunteers ready to assist with shopping and errands including ○ Over 500 meals cooked and delivered every day ○ More than 5,000 phone calls to the elderly to more than 30 areas of the UK ○ 1,300+ letters hand-delivered to neighbours ○ 5,000+ emails sent to families ○ Over 1,500 elderly and vulnerable people helped with shopping, medication and essential errands ○ 70 tons of fresh fruit, vegetables and grocery bags were given to charitable organisations ● Tiffin service for the elderly and vulnerable living in Harrow and Brent and other areas ● Snacks and appreciation letter delivered to Northwick Park Hospital for NHS staff ● A series of health awareness videos and presentations in English and Gujarati to educate the public on its collective responsibility to help stem the rapid spread of this deadly virus were also held. ● Five hospitals in the UK, including the newly opened Nightingale Hospital, were supported by providing food as well as letters of appreciation for their heroic staff. Go Dharmic Emergency CoronaVirus Appeal ● Around 2500 volunteers supporting community outreach and a telephone line for vulnerable & elderly people speaking English, Gujarati or Hindi. Support includes: ○ Over 1800 meals distributed every day; ○ Regular check-ins with the elderly and vulnerable; ○ Providing assistance with online ordering of essentials and support with shopping; ○ Training for online tools such as skype, zoom, WhatsApp video calls . ● Extend support to carers & NHS staff to help source shopping or for any non- support ● Emergency fundraising appeal to fund and support several measures to help the elderly, vulnerable and underprivileged during this difficult time directly from our charity (Raising over £39,038 out of £100,000 to date). Sewa Day “ Help a neighbour” campaign ● Over 1500 vetted volunteers across 27 regional teams in Greater London, South Herts, West & East Midlands, South West, Surrey, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Cardiff & Scotland supporting: ○ Delivery of over 80,000 hot meals to the vulnerable and frontline staff from three local Sewa kitchens since lockdown began ○ Food bank replenishment- 17 food banks replenished, supplying food from restaurants or cooking fresh meals. Also driving outreach for food donations ○ Care for the carer- Connected to 26 local hospitals to provide support directly including meals and other relevant donations. Donated thousands of face masks and hand cream to front line staff ○ Vulnerable aid and serve- Direct aid to local vulnerable groups and the elederly. Crisis hotline setup (0208 167 4189) for those in need ○ Mental wellbeing and outreach- Launched the “Spread some joy” campaign by encouraging children to create pictures which are then shared with care homes digitally ○ Donation of personal protective equipment Key Risks faced by the community Funding and provision of services 1. Significant loss in funding due to the lockdown, with most organisations run on donations and venue hire unable to stay afloat, especially with spiritual activities continuing and staff being required to work. COVID-19 has also resulted in major dharmic festivals associated with Spring being cancelled including Holi, Vaisakhi, Varsha Pratipad, Navratri, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti and Hanuman Jayanti; all festivals bring in a significant amount of income for these groups. 2. Most temples have closed down due to the government lockdown, leaving many members of the community without access to pastoral services, religious services and other community services for the elderly. Many groups also provide educational and social activities for youth, who have been significantly affected by the lockdown with the closure of schools. Although some organisations are providing access to some of these services online, they are finding it difficult to reach isolated members who do not have access to the relevant online tools. They are also struggling with transmission of spiritual events via the internet, requiring improved audiovisual equipment and internet connection. 3. A number of temples are undergoing refurbishment, with work being held due to the lockdown. This poses a security risk with building work being left unfinished and properties remaining vacant. Buildings will deteriorate and not be repaired over this time, requiring longer term efforts to restore the place of worship. Health, Social & Bereavement Support 4. People of Indian origin in the UK have emerged as among the worst affected minority group, with latest NHS statistics showing that 3%3 (560) people of Indian ethnicity have died from the COVID-19 virus. With the prevalence of multigenerational families living together in the Hindu community, there is a fear that without proper testing, the community is at greater risk of contracting and dying from the virus. 5. Around 26%4 of frontline medical and dental staff in the NHS are of Asian ethnicity, and so people from these communities are also disproportionately on the front line, including many members of the Hindu community. There is grave concern over the protection- including supply of PPE- being given to doctors, nurses and other health and social care workers. There is also concern over the level of testing that is available to these people to ensure they can do their work safely. 6. It is well known that many hindu families usually care for their elderly themselves providing support for groceries, medicine collection, hospital appointments and any other social care themselves. With many individuals needing to self-isolate for up to 14 days, there is a gap in care provision for these people, who are now turning to hindu charities for support. The dietary requirements to cater for both religious (vegetarian/vegan meals) and health issues (long term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease) is increasing the burden on charities. There is a concern that the longer the lockdown carries on, the more likely that formal arrangements will need to be made to support these people who have never before used social care services. 7. The long term effects of losing a loved one through COVID-19 are not yet understood, given restrictions on both seeing the deceased and conducting the funeral. Within hinduism, there is typically a twelve day mourning period during which family would gather and and pay respects to the family of the deceased, as well as conduct prayers for the soul of the deceased. Without an open casket, last rites cannot be adequately performed, despite a number of organisations providing online recordings that are not yet widely available. Local councils have differing guidance on this which is confusing. Clear instructions on how families should navigate a COVID-19 death, whilst respecting hindu norms and practices, both financially and socially, is required.
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