By Syd Latchana
Alfred R Sawh QC is a people person who came from humble beginnings and rose to heights unattainable by many in his era. He currently lives in Pickering, Ontario and recently celebrated his 84th birthday with close fiends and family members.
Mr Sawh was born in the year 1926 in the sugar estate of Plantation Enmore, East Coast, Demerara, of the then British Guiana and always maintained an affinity to his roots. Alfred attended Central High School in Georgetown and after graduation was a teacher there for about a year. At the age of 17, he commenced studying law while articling with a top law firm in the country.
In 1949 , Alfred Sawh obtained his LLB degree from London, UK and was the second such person to have ever done so in the then British Guiana up to that time.
In the years 1956 to 1958, Alfred published the Law Digest of British Guiana which was extensively perused by most lawyers, crown prosecutors and judges at that time. In 1958, he was elected president of the law Society of British Guiana and in 1966 was appointed to the position of Public Trustee.
When the constitution of British Guiana was suspended from 1953 to 1956, the then Governor was in charge of the country and the elected politicians had no say. During that time period, hundreds of sugar workers who were injured or accidentally killed on the job had no recourse to any compensation for their injuries or deaths. Lawyers were unwilling to take up these matters with the court because the families could not afford to pay any upfront fees before the commencement of legal action. Alfred represented these families and filed hundreds of lawsuits in court without payment of any fees and only received $10 to $20 as ordered by the court for the ones he was successful with. Former Premier, Dr Cheddi Jagan who was then confined by the then Governor during this period, wrote Mr Sawh a personal letter thanking him for assisting the poor people.
In 1969, Alfred Sawh and family migrated to Canada where he articled with a top Bay Street law firm in Toronto and at age 45 was admitted to practise law in the Province of Ontario. Mr Sawh who never attended University was successful at all his examinations at first sitting.
Alfred got married to his wife Claudette in the year 1964 and they are the parents of four daughters all of whom are graduates of universities in Canada and are doing extremely well in their chosen careers. Two are teachers with the Toronto School Board; one, a bank executive and the other, a lawyer.
In 1981, Alfred Sawh was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel (QC) by the Province of Ontario. He was one of the first such lawyers from the Caribbean or Guyana to be so honored.
Alfred is very committed to the South Asian community and had played a key role in obtaining the land for the building of the Vishnu Mandir, a Hindu Temple at Yonge St and Highway 7 on the outskirts of Toronto. He was also a senior member on the advisory board of the Pickering Devi Mandir, another Hindu Temple.
In 1981, Alfred successfully underwent a 6-bypass heart surgery at the Toronto Western Hospital. Alfred has great admiration for the heart surgeon - Dr Tyrone David - who performed the operation and whom he credits with the fact that he is still going well 30 years after. Ever since, his heart has been functioning well and he has been given a clean bill of health by his nephew, cardiologist Dr Vivian Rambihar. He is in good mental condition although he presently has some physical limitations.
Alfred continued to play tennis up until age 75 and was a former President of a lawn tennis club in Pickering, Ontario. He stays physically active as best as he can and enjoys the company of his close friends and extended family. At age 84, he is very mentally alert and we all wish him many more milestones and the best of health.

 

A Memorial Service for the late Pt. Sitaram will be held at the Vedic Mission Scarborough Mandir, 200 Silverstar Blvd, unit 331, Scarborough, on Sunday, 23 Jan, 2011 from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm. Pt Sitaram, who passed away at age 95 on September 27 this year, was a founding member and Priest in Charge of the Vedic Mission. Born in Canje, Berbice, Guyana, Pt Sitaran was very active in the Arya Samaj movement throughout his entire life. He lived for many years in Trinidad where he was a fearless protagonist of the Arya Samaj. He also lived in England before migrating to Canada in 1975. For info call Pt Ramesh Chandrapal at 416-287-9280 or 416-558-3937.

 

By Adit Kumar
Over the holiday season the Arya Samaj donated a substantial quantity of foodstuff to the Markham Food Bank.
Mrs. Gladys Keeble, Director of the Markham Food Bank for over 25 years along with volunteers Mr. Marcel Pepin and Mrs. Helen Pepin were at the Vedic Cultural Centre in Markham on Sunday December 19th to uplift the items. They thanked the organization for its generosity.
Mr Amar Erry, Chairman of the Vedic Cultural Centre and Mr Amar Umadas, President of Toronto Arya Samaj told ICW that this donation was the second to the Markham Food Bank within the past two months.
The first donation was made on October 23rd during Arya Samaj Annual Diwali Mela and celebrations. That drive was spearheaded by the youths of the organization and the food delivered to the Food Bank by them.
Because the response to that campaign was so overwhelming, members continued to bring food items after the cut off date, so it was decided to extend the drive into the holiday season.
Both Umadas and Erry stated that the Arya samaj is duty bound by one of its fundamental principles to make contributions of this kind to those in need. They thanked the members of the organization for spontaneously supporting the cause.