United States-based Guyanese Suresh Sugrim, 60, lived as an illegal immigrant for ten years in the US and ten years after he became a US resident, as a pandit, he formed the New Jersey Arya Samaj (NJAS) which gave birth to the Humanitarian Mission (Guyana) Inc (HMI) in Port Mourant, Corentyne in 2005. He then walked away from religion in 2015/2016 to serve humanity.
He said, “I acknowledge the presence of God but I also acknowledge the presence of God’s children. If we all preach the word of God, then who will take care of the fallen men and women? People will look down on each other or not talk to each other because of certain social ills. My calling is to pick up those individuals, put them in my heart and tell them that tomorrow will be a better day.”
In a recent interview, Sugrim told Stabroek Weekend that in 2015, the HMI was delinked from the NJAS to become an independent organisation with no affiliation to race, religion or politics.