Haryana Federation NZ (HFNZ) organised its fourth blood donation camp on Saturday (September 10) at Hamilton's NZ Blood service centre (21 Ohaupo Road, Melville).
For the uninitiated, HFNZ is a secular, non-political and not-for-profit organisation representing Indians from Haryana, which was founded in 2019 by Kiwi-Indians Karanjeet Singh Cheema and Gurbaj Singh Mall.
The event saw dozens of HFNZ members and volunteers donating their blood.
The Mayor of Hamilton, Paula Southgate, came to the camp at the invitation of Gurpal Singh Sidhu. She was seen talking and appreciating all the donors for doing such a great contribution to the community. She also praised and encouraged the organisers for their great work.
One of the blood donation camp’s organisers Karanjeet from HFNZ, was overwhelmed by the response. Talking to Indian Weekender, he said, "It was great to see many people coming forward to donate their blood. As a community organisation, HFNZ endeavours to do its contribution for the community by organising such blood donation camps. We plan to have more such events to help us serve the community. We want to say our sincere thanks to the Mayor of Hamilton Paula Southgate for taking the time to come over. It was great to see her appreciating our initiative for community service.”
The donors, too, seemed enthusiastic and upbeat about being part of the camp.
Talking to Indian Weekender, Satinderpal Singh (a 28-year-old resident of Flat Bush), one of the donors and a member of HFNZ, said, "Donating blood has been a crucial cornerstone that aids humanity at crucial times. At this camp, I donated plasma, which took around one hour. I thought blood donation was my way of doing my bit for society. Every time I donate blood/plasma, I feel good and happy with myself as it gives me immense satisfaction.”
Simranjeet Singh, another blood donor who travelled especially to Hamilton from Auckland for the camp, wants to encourage everyone to donate blood/plasma as he says, “It is the least you can do to help society. I would like to tell everyone that it is hundred percent safe. No one should hesitate to donate blood/plasma. I want more and more community people to come forward and support such initiatives.”