Nov. 7 (Toronto) – Fifty years ago, the Nanji family arrived in Canada, expelled from Uganda when dictator Idi Amin ordered all Asians to leave the country.
After re-establishing themselves in Canada and building a thriving business, the Nanjis have become one of the most generous donors to Toronto-area hospitals as a way of saying thank you to the country that embraced them and many thousands of fellow Asian-Ugandans.
Now, with the largest gift in Seneca’s history, the Nanji Foundation has made a multi-million-dollar contribution to Seneca’s School of Nursing to support financial aid, simulation technology and community engagement.
To celebrate the Nanji Foundation’s generosity, Seneca has renamed the School of Nursing to the Seneca Nanji Foundation School of Nursing. It is the first Seneca school to be named in honour of a donor, reflecting the exceptional support the gift will provide to students and the impact it will have on healthcare for all Canadians.
“Seneca is enormously grateful to the Nanji family for this transformational gift,” said President David Agnew. “The positive impact of the family’s generosity will be felt by thousands of Seneca nursing students for generations to come.
“Not only will this gift help address the nursing shortage we are experiencing in Ontario’s health-care system by financially assisting our students and ensuring they have the best possible facilities, it also affirms the high value of the nursing profession.”
The importance of the 50th anniversary of the expulsion to the Asian-Ugandan diaspora is reflected in the endowment established by the Nanjis’ generosity. Each year, 50 students in Seneca’s new Honours Bachelor of Science - Nursing degree program and 50 students in the Practical Nursing diploma program will each receive a bursary.
“Our family has chosen to support nursing students at Seneca because of the importance of nurses to every aspect of the health-care system,” said Pyarali G. Nanji. “No matter what procedure or treatment you have, a nurse is always involved. Helping to educate nurses is something we truly believe will make an impact on health care in Ontario and Canada.”
Portions of the Nanji Foundation’s gift will be used to fund state-of-the-art simulation technology, the annual Nanji Scholarship For Nursing Excellence for outstanding students in Seneca’s nursing degree program and a community challenge fund, encouraging other donors to support Seneca’s nursing students.