Subodh Kanani, MD CCFP FCFP

William M. Glenn

In the fall of 1972, Subodh Kanani arrived in Montreal, Que, a refugee from Uganda, kicked out of the former British colony by Idi Amin together with some 70 000 other Ugandans of South Asian descent. Alone, 22 years of age, and just $10 in his pocket, Kanani knew no one in Canada. But a cousin in Kenya had a friend in Hamilton, Ont, so that’s where he headed.

Kanani had finished 3.5 years of a 5-year medical degree at Makerere University in Uganda. To his delight he discovered that nearby McMaster University had a medical faculty. “Eight o’clock the next morning I marched into the Office of the Dean and asked if I could see him. I didn’t have an appointment and he was out, so I asked if I could sit and wait. Grudgingly, the secretary said okay.”

About noon, a distinguished looking fellow strode through the lobby past the secretary’s desk and straight into his office. Dean Fraser Mustard had been in Toronto meeting with his fellow heads to discuss how they might accommodate some of the recent influx of displaced Ugandan students in Ontario’s medical schools.

“Fortunately, I was his first Ugandan medical student.”

The young exile was accepted into McMaster, but first he faced a long, cold Canadian winter. Kanani had heard that the Uganda Welcome House in Toronto was distributing good used clothing to refugees. When he arrived, a volunteer fitted him out with a warm coat and then asked him to sign the guest book. There on the same page was the name and phone number of Amita Nathwani, one of his former classmates in Uganda. This year will mark their 40th wedding anniversary.

Today Dr Kanani works hard to “close the circle,” repaying some of the help and support he received in his first few years in Canada. In 2005, he donated a hostel to AIM for SEVA, a Canadian charity that reaches out to the poorest of the poor in India. The money raised goes to feed, clothe, and cover the school fees of children from poor rural families from grades 7 to 12. “By completing their education, these children can help lift their families out of the cycle of poverty,” Dr Kanani says. “We are what we are by what we receive.”

“We are what we are by what we receive”

PHOTOS (LEFT): Dr Kanani examining patient Ryan Narinesingh, and treating a wound assisted by Susan Caruana.

PHOTOS (RIGHT, TOP DOWN): Dr Kanani conversing with grandchildren, Shreya and Reshay. Dr Kanani with wife, Amita, and grandchildren. Dr Kanani exercising and practising putting. Dr Kanani and his wife meditating.

(FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH): Standing, Dr Kanani’s son, Ravi, and Ravi’s wife, Sonia; sitting (left to right), daughter Raksha, Dr Kanani, his wife, Amita, and his mother, Kesarben; on the floor, grandson Reshay and granddaughter Shreya.

Notes

THE COVER PROJECT Canadian Family Physician has embarked on a project to assemble the portrait of family medicine in Canada. Each cover of the journal features a family physician chosen at random from our membership list, along with a short essay—a brief glimpse of the person and the practice. Over time, the randomness will become representative and the differences, taken together, will define what it is that all family physicians have in common.

Footnotes

Dr Kanani is a family physician in Toronto, Ont; he is on staff at Trillium Health Partners and an attending physician at the McCall Centre for Complex Continuing Care.