BY DR. NITIN SHAH
To help was in me from childhood, I was my grandmother’s favorite because I would help in the kitchen and with household chores! My colleagues in college liked me because I would help them with their social issues. Finally, my teachers admired me because I was very creative and came up with innovative ideas for...
To help was in me from childhood, I was my grandmother’s favorite because I would help in the kitchen and with household chores! My colleagues in college liked me because I would help them with their social issues. Finally, my teachers admired me because I was very creative and came up with innovative ideas for...
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difficult problems that helped save lives. I studied at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara from 1968 to 1979 where I finished my Post graduation in anesthesiology. I then moved to Zambia, then Zimbabwe before coming to New York in 1987. I helped people in Zambia where I flew to interior places with Zambia Flying Doctors’ to see patients. In Zimbabwe, I was involved with the local community and helped transport patients from Francistown, Botswana to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In New York I spent 4 ½ years training at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and NY Hospital of Cornell University, NY.
My Journey of helping people in the US started here. I was involved in arranging the transfer of the Ex Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Late Captain Sangma who was being treated for lung cancer and was terminal in 1990. He wanted to go back to India for his last few weeks of life. I utilized my African experience of transporting patients by plane from one country to another and set up his transfer. Upon request by his wife and other family members I also traveled with him. He was dependent on life support – this was a very unique experience to say the least. We arrived safely after 24 hours of travel to New Delhi. As luck would have it, while returning from to NY I got involved in helping a woman who became unconscious on board due to low sugar and we helped her to regain consciousness and got her safely to London! “Sun beats the Snow, I leave!” – what I said when I had an offer to stay back at both the hospitals in NY but decided moved to SoCal. After 18 years at UCI, I joined Loma Linda University in 2010.
Building upon my past ventures I joined the 2nd annual health fair organized by the Jain Social Group of Los Angeles and Jain Center of Southern California in early 1992 and I literally took over organizing it from 1993 and have been doing so for the last 23 years. This was just the beginning of a Free Community Health Fair network that I am fortunate to have created not only in Southern California but also other parts of the US! First one to give me an opportunity was Shree Ramkabir Temple, in Carson. This happened with the help of a very dear family friend Nalini Bhakta. She asked me at the JCSC health fair if the same can be done for the Bhakta Community and the rest is history. We named it Ram-Sheela to give tribute to our late spouses. Next came the Federation of Indian Associations, then Vice President (1994-1995) and current JCSC President Virendra Shah got me introduced. For over 15 years annually I have celebrated India’s Independence Day by providing free health check up to people!
My journey to help unknowns continued and the next stop was BAPS temple in Whittier in 2000. They started annual camps there and it has continued in Chino Hills. Next stop was Corona, where we helped Roopa Sharma in 2002 to start what has now grown to a large annual health fair where in they help hundreds of people in a day with a variety of services.
JCSC members realized the need to form another non-religious organization for many humanitarian and cultural activities and hence Anekant Community Center (ACC) was created in 2005. JCSC’s annual health fair is now done under umbrella of ACC. I have led many communities to start organizing free community health fairs like Zoroastrian Temple in Westminster, Sri Lankan Community, City of Artesia, Sanatan Dharma Temple in Norwalk, South Asian Network in Artesia, Bangladesi community in Los Angeles, Taxi Worker’s Union in LA for all Americans and the list goes on and on………..!
What it takes
In brief, it takes Desire, Dedication, Commitment and Hard Work of a few people to organize a fair and mobilizing the resources of the community that is interested in having one. A large sized one, in my experience requires coordinators to oversee all aspects, primary care physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, medical technologists, chiropractors, physical therapists etc. Advertising, registration, food for volunteers and participants, set up and clean up, women care, interpreters, volunteer coordination, legal advisor accounting, political and dignitary invitations and a program during the event, are other aspects to look into.
I would say a signigicant breakthrough was in 2007. The then Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu and GBS Linens Pravin Mody came to me and asked if I could help start an annual event with the help of the City and the Chamber of Commerce. Thus was born the Anaheim Health fair, and the rest is history. It has been the biggest event for me, we have seen upto 1,100 people in a day since 2007. We took another leap in 2012 when for the first time with the help of Lestonnac Free Clinic we were fortunate to offer onsite dental services (extractions and fillings) and also perform free surgeries on patients at Western Anaheim Medical Center. After moving around few places, in 2014 we found a permanent home for the AHF at the Anaheim Convention Center. Excitingly, we got a phone call from God sent Remote Area Medical California, part of Remote Area Medical (RAM) USA. Its going to be a quantum leap, partnering with RAM California for 2015’s annual AHF and it will be for THREE days from May 29 to 31 at the Anaheim Convention Center! This will be our biggest event in Southern California. We plan to have all of the medical services available on all three days and RAM USA will bring 100 plus dental chairs and also enough eye equipment to give 300 pairs of eye glasses per day! We are gearing up to see 800 to 1000 patients a day!
Why do this?
“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure,” said Henry de Bracton. I humbly am trying to help under served people get themselves checked and learn about diseases early enough to control and treat them. “Only a Life lived for others is a life worth while,” said Albert Einstein. I simply say, “True happiness in life comes from helping unknowns.” (Shah has lost count of the number of health fairs he has conducted in over 23 years around SoCal. Needless to say he has no idea of the thousands who have been helped with his services.)
My Journey of helping people in the US started here. I was involved in arranging the transfer of the Ex Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Late Captain Sangma who was being treated for lung cancer and was terminal in 1990. He wanted to go back to India for his last few weeks of life. I utilized my African experience of transporting patients by plane from one country to another and set up his transfer. Upon request by his wife and other family members I also traveled with him. He was dependent on life support – this was a very unique experience to say the least. We arrived safely after 24 hours of travel to New Delhi. As luck would have it, while returning from to NY I got involved in helping a woman who became unconscious on board due to low sugar and we helped her to regain consciousness and got her safely to London! “Sun beats the Snow, I leave!” – what I said when I had an offer to stay back at both the hospitals in NY but decided moved to SoCal. After 18 years at UCI, I joined Loma Linda University in 2010.
Building upon my past ventures I joined the 2nd annual health fair organized by the Jain Social Group of Los Angeles and Jain Center of Southern California in early 1992 and I literally took over organizing it from 1993 and have been doing so for the last 23 years. This was just the beginning of a Free Community Health Fair network that I am fortunate to have created not only in Southern California but also other parts of the US! First one to give me an opportunity was Shree Ramkabir Temple, in Carson. This happened with the help of a very dear family friend Nalini Bhakta. She asked me at the JCSC health fair if the same can be done for the Bhakta Community and the rest is history. We named it Ram-Sheela to give tribute to our late spouses. Next came the Federation of Indian Associations, then Vice President (1994-1995) and current JCSC President Virendra Shah got me introduced. For over 15 years annually I have celebrated India’s Independence Day by providing free health check up to people!
My journey to help unknowns continued and the next stop was BAPS temple in Whittier in 2000. They started annual camps there and it has continued in Chino Hills. Next stop was Corona, where we helped Roopa Sharma in 2002 to start what has now grown to a large annual health fair where in they help hundreds of people in a day with a variety of services.
JCSC members realized the need to form another non-religious organization for many humanitarian and cultural activities and hence Anekant Community Center (ACC) was created in 2005. JCSC’s annual health fair is now done under umbrella of ACC. I have led many communities to start organizing free community health fairs like Zoroastrian Temple in Westminster, Sri Lankan Community, City of Artesia, Sanatan Dharma Temple in Norwalk, South Asian Network in Artesia, Bangladesi community in Los Angeles, Taxi Worker’s Union in LA for all Americans and the list goes on and on………..!
What it takes
In brief, it takes Desire, Dedication, Commitment and Hard Work of a few people to organize a fair and mobilizing the resources of the community that is interested in having one. A large sized one, in my experience requires coordinators to oversee all aspects, primary care physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, medical technologists, chiropractors, physical therapists etc. Advertising, registration, food for volunteers and participants, set up and clean up, women care, interpreters, volunteer coordination, legal advisor accounting, political and dignitary invitations and a program during the event, are other aspects to look into.
I would say a signigicant breakthrough was in 2007. The then Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu and GBS Linens Pravin Mody came to me and asked if I could help start an annual event with the help of the City and the Chamber of Commerce. Thus was born the Anaheim Health fair, and the rest is history. It has been the biggest event for me, we have seen upto 1,100 people in a day since 2007. We took another leap in 2012 when for the first time with the help of Lestonnac Free Clinic we were fortunate to offer onsite dental services (extractions and fillings) and also perform free surgeries on patients at Western Anaheim Medical Center. After moving around few places, in 2014 we found a permanent home for the AHF at the Anaheim Convention Center. Excitingly, we got a phone call from God sent Remote Area Medical California, part of Remote Area Medical (RAM) USA. Its going to be a quantum leap, partnering with RAM California for 2015’s annual AHF and it will be for THREE days from May 29 to 31 at the Anaheim Convention Center! This will be our biggest event in Southern California. We plan to have all of the medical services available on all three days and RAM USA will bring 100 plus dental chairs and also enough eye equipment to give 300 pairs of eye glasses per day! We are gearing up to see 800 to 1000 patients a day!
Why do this?
“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure,” said Henry de Bracton. I humbly am trying to help under served people get themselves checked and learn about diseases early enough to control and treat them. “Only a Life lived for others is a life worth while,” said Albert Einstein. I simply say, “True happiness in life comes from helping unknowns.” (Shah has lost count of the number of health fairs he has conducted in over 23 years around SoCal. Needless to say he has no idea of the thousands who have been helped with his services.)
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