SHINE Humanity’s Humanitarian Work Lauded at Fundraiser
By Haya Farooqui
Glimpses of the fundraiser
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” - World Health Organization
As I climb the higher steps of the ladder of life I understand the true meaning of this old adage “health is wealth.” If a simple cold can make your life miserable you can imagine what an amputated arm or a gangrened leg can do. These are some of the typical cases SHINE Humanity staff gets to deal with during disasters.
Sustainable Healthcare initiatives or SHINE Humanity, mobilizes in the aftermath of international disasters to provide quick, efficient and compassionate medical and humanitarian relief. They remain active with these communities in the long-term healthcare rehabilitation phase with the aim of putting in place facilities and initiatives modeled on efficiency, sustainability and transparency.
SHINE Humanity is a California-registered public benefit corporation set up with the purpose of providing humanitarian, medical and disaster relief assistance to global communities in need. Since April 2009, we have delivered care to over 150,000 needy patients across the world and are supporting the establishment of sustainable healthcare projects in disaster-affected communities that we serve.
SHINE Humanity’s charitable mission is to build and strengthen healthcare delivery systems and empower underprivileged communities to take charge of their healthcare destiny.
Guests at the SHINE Humanity fundraiser
SHINE Humanity believes in ‘Health’ being the basic right of every citizen, and that healthy children, families and individuals are better prepared to take advantage of education and development opportunities.
Only recently SHINE Humanity held their first annual fundraiser in the lush tropical surrounding of Hyatt Regency Hotel, in the city of Newport Beach, Southern California.
Beside the fact that the event was sold out (four hundred and thirty people were present) I was very impressed by the variety of ethnicity of people who attended.
There were Persians, Koreans, Indians, Caucasians and African Americans who were eager participants. It was heartening to see that even in this tight economy people go all out to help genuine causes. More than $180,000 were raised in just a few hours.
An outstanding feature of the evening was the impeccable time management skills displayed by the organizers and guests at the event.
Mahrukh Madad, a UCI Student and daughter of two well-known community leaders, Qaiser Madad and Dr. Meher Tabatabai, the emcee for the evening, conducted the program well and formally initiated the proceedings by introducing Congresswoman Karen Bass, the evening’s first speaker, who happens to be a great advocate of healthcare.
Dr. Faisal Khan, Director of SHINE, furnished a brief introduction to SHINE’s well-meaning strivings and distributed certificates amongst SHINE volunteers.
This was followed by a brief yet effective narrative by Todd Shea, Chief Operating Officer of SHINE (a musician and humanitarian who has worked in the aftermath of disasters, namely 9/11, the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan Earthquake, the Haiti Earthquake, and the Pakistan Flood Crisis), on the people and facilities where SHINE operates. He is also the recipient of Tamgha-i-Eisaar Medal from the government of Pakistan.
Todd graciously introduced Dr. Meher Tabatabai, a physician and well-known philanthropist, as the evening’s keynote speaker. In her illuminating remarks, Dr Tabatabai stressed the importance of Healthcare and why it’s so important for everyone to support such causes that give people a chance to live their lives, not barely survive.
Laila Karamaly, CEO of SHINE Humanity, was the last to speak on the subject of healthcare and had some heart rendering stories to share with her audience that welled the eyes of some.
Max Amini, a well-known entertainer, had the audience in fits of laughter with his hilarious jokes and comments for more than an hour.
SHINE Humanity would like to thank all their dedicated and hard working volunteers for making this event a great success and to all the incredibly generous donors who went above and beyond in getting a record collection of funds. SHINE would like to thank their media sponsors, Mr. Arif Mansuri of Pakistan Link who always goes above and beyond in supporting the community. SHINE would specially like to thank Mr. Waqar and Fatima Khan of Safeer-e-Pakistan who are always there to graciously support and give coverage to all community events, helped SHINE produce a fine documentary and also covered the entire event with great zest.
For more details please visit their website www.SHINEHUMANITY.org
