A hospital has received £10,000 thanks to generous donations from a gurdwara congregation.

Yesterday, Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford, received more than £10,000 from Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwara, in Gravesend.

The hospital's chairman, Peter Coles, and members of Darent Valley's executive team met the gurdwara committee president, Dalawer Singh Bagha, Gravesham mayor Cllr Gurdip Bungar, and Gravesend MP Adam Holloway to celebrate the donation.

The £10,621 came from committee funds, and donations from the gurdwara’s congregation.

All the money will be going to the Valley Hospital Charity appeal, which is supporting staff welfare initiatives across the Trust during the Covid-19 outbreak and beyond.

Dalawer Singh Bagha said: "The money from our gurdwara was raised by myself and members of our management team.

"We had a good response from Gravesend, and when I contacted our MP, Mr Holloway, about the fundraising, he was very happy to arrange a handover with Darent Valley Hospital.

"The amount of money was growing daily and when I spoke to Mr Holloway he was very pleased and thankful.

"As a bus driver myself, I know this is hard time for key workers and we are thankful to all people who most praise us every day when they come on our buses."

Dalawer has been the president of Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwara since 2018.

His key role is to unite the community and ask older people and vulnerable if they need any help, especially during these hard times.

He said: "Our volunteers are very helpful to people in need.

"Currently there are so many gurdwaras offering free food in not only the UK and Europe, but also in India as well.

"We encourage people to help those in need.

"I can only say thanks to our national hero team, the NHS, and all essential workers.

"You are our real heroes, thank you and God bless you."

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