CPBC Felicitates Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim on his Honorary Doctorate of Lawfrom Ryerson UniversityNov 10, 2019

Amidst a warm and welcoming environment of the Brampton Golf Club on a cold November evening, CPBC proudly hosted a dinner reception to felicitate Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim for receiving an Honorary Law Degree from Ryerson University.

The Honorary Degree is awarded to him for his exceptional work in philanthropy and service to humanity, here, in Canada and globally.

After a brief and engaging meet & greet session, Samir Dossal in his welcome remarks welcomed the distinguished guests. He thanked Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, President & Vice-Chancellor, of Ryerson University and requested him to speak to the august gathering.

Dr. Lachemi in his remarks thanked Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim for the exceptional work and commitment to humanity both here in Canada and globally and  particularly in Pakistan. He explained the role of Ryerson in helping identify the great leaders of the community by conferring an Honorary Doctorate Degree to highlight and encourage good work carried out by Canadians.

He highlighted the work done by Dr. Ebrahim including the primary support to his family established charity which provides over 60,000 free cataract and eye surgeries each year. To their credit, they have provided over 1.2 million surgeries thus far. His commitment to William Osler Hospital and other Canadian Charities were commendable. Supporting over 20 Syrian Families was again a great humanitarian gesture.

Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim graciously and humbly accepting the honor talked about his growing up in Pakistan and acknowledged the training and guidance by his family and specifically his mother. He briefly explained how his grandfather got started in helping the blind which led to the creating of this charity where Sajjad is the Principal supporter. Dr. Ebrahim is an exceptionally humble human being whose primary focus in life is to work towards the betterment of humanity.

President Samir in ensuring that Dr. Ebrahim is appropriately introduced, shared the recording of the citation at the Ryerson convocation ceremony before the award was conferred: https://youtu.be/8QPwpKpLIcg

Dr. Rafi Mustafa, CPBC Director, and a former Chair of IDRF thanked Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim and in a philosophical way attributed to his smile which reflects his contentment with life.

He said that he has known Dr. Ebrahim for over three decades, but has never seen him without the smile, which is his hallmark. That shows how generous he is because a smile is the smallest charity that a person can give to another person.

The event was well attended by businessmen and dignitaries which included Senator Salma Ataullahjan, reelected MP Salma Zahid, CPBC Board Members, Advisors, and Sponsors and a prominent cross-section of the community.
Another gesture of Dr. Sajjad’s kindness was the generous gift an inspiring book for all the guests at the event.

The book by Nido R. Rubin “ATTITUDE” which Dr. Sajjad referred to in his address at the Ryerson Convocation and copies of this were also presented to all the graduating students at the Ryerson Convocation.
Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim happily signed the books for the guests after an enjoyable Pakistani cuisine.

Earlier, President Samir Dossal took the opportunity to update the attendees on the recent successful  CPBC 36th Anniversary Gala and Awards Night where Minister Maryam Monsef and the Government of Canada chose the CPBC forum to announce the $21 Million Dollar Grant to Pakistan spread over four years to support women political empowerment.

A brief report in PDF linked below: https://online.flowpaper.com/7c5d07981/CPBCBlogReportFINAL/#page=1

For your ready reference, below is the official announcement:

https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2019/07/minister-monsef-announces-support-for-womens-political-empowerment-and-rights-in-pakistan.html

Additionally, as a follow up to the successful CPBC ICT Delegation to Pakistan, financially supported by Global Affairs (GOA) in March a Two Member CPBC Team returned attending the STARTUP GRIND PAKISTAN. CPBC engagement was a direct result of an MOU signed by the CPBC/Rainbow Cloud Initiative and National Incubation Centre, Karachi. Please wait for further updates.

Meanwhile, you are welcome to review our recent newsletter which provides an update on the recent activities of CPBC.
https://online.flowpaper.com/7c5d07981/CPBCBlogReportFINAL/#page=1

A full video of the event covered by Eawaz  TV is being attached, you may want to watch it at your convenience:

CPBC would like to thank Arisoft Global, an ICT/ERP Canadian company having a presence in many overseas markets,  for the support in hosting this event. Also thanks go out to Syed Shah,  SASCO DESIGN BUILD for their support.