Gurfateh Sewa Centre- A Sikh Faith Resource Centre With God's blessings, the Gurfateh Sewa Centre began serving the public in April of 2007. The mandate was simple; to supply Sikh and non-Sikh communities with resources to learn the message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In keeping with spirit serving, the Gurfateh Sewa Centre is a non-profit, Canadian registered charitable organization that is run solely by volunteers. In its humble conception, the centre opened its doors to it's 300 square foot showroom on weekends at the Guru Nanak Sikh Centre Gurdwara in Brampton, Ontario. In an effort to share the message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Gurfateh Sewa Centre provides a plethora of diverse materials that allow people from all walks of life to benefit. Some examples of materials available are Sikh hymn and prayer books in Gurmukhi, English, Hindi, Urdu, French, Spanish and German, translations of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh artifacts, instruments for hymn singing, Gurbani Radios, kakars (symbols-5 K's), Gatka equipment, authentic artwork from prominent artists, childrens books and activity materials, traditional photography and plaques with religious scripture, coffee books, cultural perspectives of the history of Sikhs in Canada and books on various other topics, traditional audio and video materials and a variety of Sikh artifacts. With the support of the community, in June 2011, the Gurfateh Sewa Centre opened an additional centre of approximately 4000 square feet in size, in Mississauga, Ontario. With an expanded footprint also came and increased scope of service. This location operates six days a week and collaborates with several groups to further its mandate. The centre works with the Catholic and Public school boards of Ontario and supplies them with language, history and other resources for their respective curriculums. The centre has helped to create materials suitable for inmates in jails and correction facilities across North America in accordance to standards required by these high security institutions. All materials provided to inmates are provided free of charge. The centre works with local nursing homes to organize trips to local Gurdwaras as well as providing services at the nursing centres for those who are not otherwise able to access Sikh congregations. Services are rendered to local hospitals providing materials and prayer to patients and families. Training and education are probivided to hospital staff to allow them to communicate and interact with Sikh patients more effectively. The centre also works with the Seva Food Bank and Guru Nanak Langar Sewa Society mobile langar service to support their mandates of feeding those in need. With the grace of God and the support of Sikh and non- Sikh communities, the Gurfateh Sewa Centre wishes to continue to be a resource centre and increase its scope of volunteer work to serve the community at large.
