An exemplary matriarch in the Indo-Guyanese community passed away on May 28th, leaving a stunning legacy that pays tribute to the achievements of immigrant women in Canada.
Iris Rambihar was the mother of eight children – Compton, Vivian, Grace, Lurline, the late Ian, Brian, Roxanne, and Sharon; grandmother of eleven and great-grandmother of five. Her late husband was a well-known educator in Guyana, William Rambihar.
As Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, we reflect on how the life of this brilliant and hardworking woman has helped shape our great nation.
Iris came from humble beginnings being born to rice factory owners Parbattie and Ramlogan Sawh of Triumph/Beterverwagting on the East Coast of Demerara, Guyana. She attended primary school in BV but as was customary of girls in her time, and because of family demands, she left school to assist in the care of her five younger siblings. But she did not resign herself to the usual outcome of this eventuality; Iris wanted to be a professional. So, despite a five-year gap in her educational life, she pursued secretarial school, quickly mastering shorthand, typing, math, and English.
After Iris got married to a young teacher from Huist Dieren, Essequibo, she turned her focus to raising a family; here too, she enjoyed immense success. Under her watchful eye, all eight of her children attended the prestigious Bishop’s and Queen’s College High Schools, with several of them achieving Head or Deputy Head Boy and Girl status. Vivian, Brian and Roxanne were national Guyana scholars. Three of Iris’s sons went on to become medical doctors. As a cardiologist, Vivian achieved international recognition in diversity medicine and complexity science. Ian became an engineer, while Lurline and Roxanne were recognized mathematicians, and Grace and Sharon pursued Science and Business.
Iris’s children often recall their mother as a mastermind guiding them down their path, even as she sewed every piece of clothing they wore. In this way, their last name became synonymous with education, discipline and success.
In 1985, Iris immigrated to Canada. In so doing, she sacrificed her established financial base to start over in a completely foreign environment but she was never intimidated. Citing her ability to never be daunted, Iris's family fondly tells the story of how she coordinated three weddings in three countries over only two months. Soon, she was volunteering at Scarborough General Hospital and at age 57, she got her first job as a florist. As a person with a strong Hindu religious bent, Iris took up yoga at age 63 and soon taught herself the challenging headstand posture, among countless others. She was recognized for her supreme discipline in health, diet and exercise, her keen following of politics and world affairs, and her culinary mastery of duck and lamb curry.
In Canada and the UK, Iris’s matriarchy has since blossomed. Five grand-daughters – Sherryn, Nadira, Vanessa, Sophie and Shara – are medical doctors; granddaughter Reba is pursuing law, and the others have pursued higher education in science and business. Thus without attending medical or law school, Iris has significantly influenced health, medicine and humanity.
Iris believed in a path of action and courage, and her legacy embodies this mind set. Following in the footsteps of her grandmother who journeyed from India to Guyana across the Kala Pani, she migrated from Guyana to Canada to seek a better life for her family. She continues to inspire us with her story of resilience, vision and adaptability. Her journey is mirrored by many women who come after her, and in Iris’s life, they can find a lesson in how to make a difference in the world. She will be truly missed.

Ashook Ramsaran has been appointed Chair of the Community Advisory Council (CAC) at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens (NY-P/Q). The formal announcement was made at the CAC general membership meeting on May 17, 2017 by Willa Brody, Director of NYP/Q External Affairs and welcomed by Jaclyn Mucaria, President of NYP/Q. Ramsaran served previously as Secretary of the 20-member CAC, with Stan Markowitz as Chair and Fran Zanni as Co-Chair.
New York-Presbyterian Queens, headquartered in Flushing, New York, is a community teaching hospital affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine, serving Queens and metro New York residents. The 535-bed tertiary care facility provides services in 14 clinical departments and numerous sub-specialties. Annually over 15,000 surgeries and 4,000 infant deliveries are performed at NY-P/Q. With its network of affiliated primary and multispecialty care physician practices and community-based health centers, NY-P/Q provides approximately 162,000 ambulatory care visits and 124,000 emergency service visits annually.
The Community Advisory Council (CAC), under the direction and guidance of NY-P/Q’s Office of External Affairs, brings together a diverse and dynamic representation of all segments of the residential, civic and commercial community served by NY-P/Q medical system, to assist NY-P/Q executives, administrators and medical staff, by focusing on and understanding NY-P/Q policies, programs and operations. As such, CAC members are able to assess and report on the impact of same in the communities their respective communities. This is accomplished through approved outreach activities, as well as participation in hospital programs when community engagement is required or desired. The CAC provides a valuable forum for the free-flow interchange of opinions, feedback, information and recommendations to improve NYP/Q’s reputation for outstanding medical care in the Borough of Queens and beyond.
Ramsaran was born in Guyana and is a long time resident of Queens and graduate of Polytechnic Institute of New York; founder/CEO of Ramex, a manufacturing company in College Point; an active community advocate and preservationist, president of Indian Diaspora Council International, vice president, Queens Civic Congress and immediate past president, GOPIO International. Ramsaran is also executive committee member of NY-P/Q Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program; committee member of NY-P/Q Patient & Family Advisory Partnership Committee (PFAP); recording secretary Fresh Meadows Civic Association, board member of Center for Latin America & Caribbean Studies at St John’s University, New York.
Upon accepting the appointment, Ramsaran remarked that he “is honored to serve as Chair of NY-P/Q’s Community Advisory Council and grateful for the confidence of NY-P/Q management and CAC members in my abilities to fulfill the responsibilities, while NY-P/Q is aggressively adapting with proactive expansion of services, programs and facilities to meet patient needs and challenges, noting the rapidly changing New York demographics, in particular the Borough of Queens.”

Over 300 persons joined the final session of a 3-day event to mark the 20th Annual Multi Kunda Havan yajna hosted by the Toronto Arya Samaj (TAS) on June 11, 2017. The highly successful event focused on the theme “the family that prays together stays together” and brought out families in communal prayer.
Dr Satish Prakash, who officiated at the first Multi Kunda Havan yajna in 1997, once again led the prayers urging the audience to focus on the growth and development of the family structure. He pointed out that spiritual development must come from within oneself and suggested self-introspection. He encouraged the audience to read one mantra from the Vedas daily. He has released the first volume of daily Vedic thoughts from the Rig Veda.
On Friday and Saturday evenings there were Vedic chants led by Kavita Rao and sangeet sessions by Hemant Panwar, Chaandi Pitamber and Rama Arora. The final program on Sunday was interspersed with appropriate bhajans.
Adit Kumar, President of Toronto Arya Samaj, in his remarks said that in chanting the sacred mantras and offering “ahuti” in the yajna, "we symbolically burn away all evil tendencies, thoughts and actions and replace them with noble thoughts and intentions." He added, “this is an opportunity to put any past misgivings behind us, forgive one another for any wrong doings, and hug, make up and start a new chapter in our lives”. The President pointed out that “life is too sacred and short for us to do otherwise” and urged all in unity "to offer a divine prayer for the well-being of our community."
He thanked all the volunteers, donors and supporters who made the event possible, in particular, Dr Prakash who flew in from New York to officiate at the program.
For further information on upcoming events of Toronto Arya Samaj please contact Pt Dave Ramoutar at 416-918-4038.

Culture Bridge Initiatives (CBI), is thrilled to celebrate Canada’s and Ontario’s 150th anniversary with an expanded Culture Bridge Festival 2017 in Newmarket and East Gwillimbury. Admission to all events is free. Attendees are encouraged support our annual Food Drive and bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the Food Pantry.
Following is the calendar of events:
June 21: Pre-festival celebrations at Phoebe Gilman Public School, 145 Harvest Hills Blvd., East Gwillimbury.
9:00am-noon: Youth Cricket competition among area schools, coached by Culture Bridge Initiatives over the past two semesters.
5:00-7:00pm: Community Music Evening - an exciting presentation of music and dances (and food).
July 7: (7-9pm) Sounds of India. In partnership with the Town of Newmarket, CBI presents dances with Paromita Kar, and music with Divya Vivekanandan (RJ Dhivya of Chennai Radio), and award winning Vandana Vishwas.
Location: Riverwalk Commons, 200 Doug Duncan Drive. (Indoor at Riverwalk in event of rain).
July 8: (1-10pm) and July 9th (1-6pm): Welcome to World Cultures, a celebration of cultural diversity, which informs on various cultural and artistic contributions to Canada through an exciting, inviting intercultural exchange with a marketplace, music, dance and food (so come hungry) that reflects the rich artistry and cultural expressions from various World Cultures. Cuban dance music by Son Aché band closes Saturday, and Zouk (Caribbean Creole) dance music closes the Festival.
Location: indoor at MAGNA Centre, 800 Mulock Dr., Newmarket.

Queen's College of Guyana Alumni Association (Toronto) celebrating its 25th Anniversary Year will host under its Literary Event Programme the launching of "Years of High Hopes: A Portrait of British Guyana, 1952-1956 from an American Family's Letters Home" by Dorothy Irwin, Editor and "West Indian History and Literature" by QC Alumnus, Dr Frank Birbalsingh. Also selected readings from Guyanese authors on Sunday July 9, 2017 from 12:30pm at Warden Hilltop Community Centre, 25 Mendelssohn St (Warden/St Clair). Refreshments will be served. Admission free; donations accepted. Call: 416-392-7640.
Dorothy Irwin was the daughter of Howard Irwin who taught Biology at QC in the '50s. She was born in Guyana but was raised in NY where she now lives. Her father and mother lived in the QC compound.

The Association of Concerned Guyanese (ACG) will hold its Annual Picnic on Sunday July 23 fro 10am at Wild Wood Park, Area A, (Derry & Goreway Rd), Mississauga. Bring your picnic basket and enjoy a day of fun with your family and friends. Complimentary vegetarian and chicken cook-up rice. DJ Impulse • Tassa • Kids games • Tassa • Dominoes • Cricket competition • lots of prizes. Call Victor Yacoob 416-636-8104, Jay 416-744-0476, Jerry Karamat 905-837-7554, Danny Doobay 416-899-0542, Bejai Jairam 416-986-2495, Mani Singh 416-569-4172 or Haro Shivratan 647-688-4276.

Shiva-Shakti Cultural Sabha's annual 7-Day Yajna will be held from July 24-30, at Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Morningview Dr, Scarborough. Pandit Mochan Persaud will officiate. Info 416-283-4109/416-284-6575.

Albion and Surrounding Area Picnic – Saturday July 15, 2017, at Wildwood Park (Area B), 3430 Derry Rd, Mississauga, (Goreway & Derry). Info: Bob Singh 905 457-4005.

Bring the entire family to meet, greet and eat with old friends at theis year's Canal #1 and The Conservancy Picnic on Sunday July 30 from 10am at Thomson Memorial Park, Area A (with shelter), 1005 Brimley Rd, Scarborough. For more info contact: Mike Mangar 416-291-7843; Email: mike1943@msn.com, Whitee Samaroo 416-508-9515, Jet Ramjit 416-633-4730, Channo 905-420-2433, Azad Khan 647-281-1951, Susan & Cheryl Mangar 647-473-7843.

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