Sacramento’s Shifa Community Clinic’s 19 th Annual Community Banquet
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Shifa Community Clinic ( https://www.shifaclinic.org/ ) of Sacramento, California held its 19 th Annual Community Banquet fundraiser in the nearby town of Rancho Cordova on Sunday, December 12, 2021. Despite the cold and wet weather that we have been experiencing in this drought-hit region a substantial number of people showed up to support one of the most successful Muslim Community inspired and executed projects in the capital city of the Golden State to date.
It was especially inspiring to see young people associated in many ways with this clinic and UC Davis with which it is affiliated. The clinic is located at 419 V Street Sacramento, CA 95818 adjacent to the downtown Muslim Mosque Association, the oldest continuous Islamic place of worship west of the Mississippi River in the United States.
Locally, Shifa has attempted to fill the ethnic and language gap between new struggling immigrants and Healthcare. Refugees who have moved into this area and are only comfortable talking to a doctor in their native languages can besides Spanish be understood in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Bengali, Fijian, Farsi, Pashto, Bosnian, and Russian here. And their inability to pay is a not a major factor at this clinic.
Since December is the month of festivities and the holiday season in America it is important not to overlook the contributions that the Muslim community has been making in this country. Shifa Community Clinic is one such continuously giving project incubated as a as a small effort by Dr M. Habib Khan in 1994 working out of an apartment donated by the V Street Muslim Mosque Association. The clinic provided free healthcare to those without insurance. In the year 2000 Shifa Community Clinic got its present name and official recognition and became affiliated with the prestigious UC Davis School of Medicine.
Today, by the grace of God, one is happy to report that the once small effort is now a much larger weekend clinic which still caters to the otherwise underserved population of the area. Shifa is run with the support of the Muslim, South Asian, Middle Eastern and other personnel. But the largest population of patients that it sees are from the Hispanic community. This is another point worthy of note because Shifa serves everyone. It now includes a dental clinic too. And with these expanded services this effort requires more resources. Hence, the reason for this annual fundraising banquet.
It would not be possible to even highlight all the activity that took place at this banquet in just one article, including the various people who were given awards, but just a slice of the activity is being covered here. Dinner was served first as the participants trickled in and many were able to view and make a bid/offer on some great art pieces with an Islamic/Ethnic touch to them.
Emcee for the event was Dr Arif Seyal. The proceedings started with a fine recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Imam Yasir Khan. Following the invocation, the current Medical Director of Shifa, Shagufta Yasmeen, MD, shared the clinic’s mission, vision, core values and a very detailed account of its journey, current activities, past contributors plus a whole lot more. A tribute to the late Dr Faith T. Fitzgerald was also included here. Dr Faith once said that “It is action with vision which carries on the great Islamic tradition of mercy for the ill and the less fortunate.” This appears to be a major part of Shifa’s trajectory today. The clinic’s local contribution to the COVID-19 challenge and its Afghan Refugee Initiative were also highlighted. And Shifa’s all-important fiscal report (Budget and Expenditures) was shared to explain the goal of the fundraiser with a target of $170,000.
Dr Moid Khan the Preceptor of Shifa’s Dental Clinic spoke next. This newly renovated extension of the Shifa Community Clinic is an indicator of many more positive things to come in future with a more frequent, maybe weekly schedule. The need for expanded dental care within our wider Sacramento community cannot be ignored. It would be appropriate to mention here that this dental clinic is being named after local luminary Professor Dr Ayad Al Qazzaz who has made a very generous donation to sustain and improve it. Dr Qazzaz was given a special award of recognition by Shifa at this event.
The keynote speaker at this event was Dr Islam Siddiqui. Ambassador Siddiqui as he is known has been one of the highest serving Muslim official in Washington and was Chief Agricultural Negotiator with the Office of the US Trade Representative in the Obama Administration. He has local roots in Northern California and still spends time both here and in Washington. He also has been a founding member of the United Muslims of America (UMA), past President and Board Member of the Muslim Mosque Association in Sacramento and is currently the President of the American Muslim Institution (AMI) ( https://www.americanmusliminstitution.org/ ) a formidable effort that promotes Muslim participation in the American mainstream.
Dr Siddiqui reflected on his many years living in the Sacramento-Davis area. “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today,” he said quoting Malcolm X. He said that as a community in the Greater Sacramento area, we have come a long way. And the main credit for that goes to the early immigrant workers (from South Asia) who built the Downtown Muslim Mosque in the 1940’s. He added that later, the Shifa Clinic would not have become a reality without the initiative and vision of our generation in the 1990’s. The purchase of the apartment buildings adjacent to the Mosque was instrumental, he said. Just think, if the apartment buildings were not purchased in 1984 the clinic would not have started in 1994. Dr Siddiqui added that a similar vision helped to establish the first Muslim cemetery in the Sacramento area.
On Shifa, he thanked Dr Yasmeen for her leadership and said that a major milestone in its 27-year history was reached with its affiliation with the UCD School of Medicine in the year 2000. And since then, many physicians, medical students and undergraduate volunteers have put their time and effort into making it a success. He added that it has been estimated that 41 million people in America are uninsured and 10.5 million households are food insecure. It is high time that all major Mosques all across America start a free community clinic and a food pantry to serve the uninsured and the underserved, said Dr Siddiqui. He added that he cannot think of a more fitting cause for our charitable contributions than Shifa.
The fundraiser followed and was very ably conducted by Imam Yasir. The goal was within reach (we do not have the final number) with the support and generosity of members of the community. Special thanks, are in order to Br Kais Menoufy for providing the final push and inspiration to reach the Shifa Community Clinic fundraising target at this event.
(Season’s greetings to all our readers.)
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