World Religion Day takes place every January on the third Sunday of the month, to promote inter-faith understanding and harmony. Through a variety of events around the globe, followers of every religion are encouraged to acknowledge the similarities of different faiths.

For World Religion Day 2021 Grays Sikh Gurdwara have kindly donated all the ingredients for Melfest, one of the Holiday Hunger February half term events in Chelmsford. Essex Multicultural Activities Network Muslim Women’s Group will prepare and cook hot daily lunches over 5 days at Melbourne Park Estate. Building on the success of last year’s event, we will be working in partnership with Chelmsford City Council and EMAN Volunteers to support this brilliant community work. The Shri Guru Nanak Sikh Darbar in Gravesend has also made a generous donation from to support Melfest event.

An excellent example of understanding and community cohesion with different faiths working together – perfect for World Religion Day!

The Sikh Community in Gravesend have been especially supportive since March 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing free meals to frontline NHS staff and also the truck drivers held up at Dover over the Christmas period. This video by ECDP Film-maker Amrita Kaur Sandhu focuses on the Sikh Community in Gravesend, created during the young filmmaker’s sixth form media studies project in 2017.