Chalk up one more award for Humber alumnus Rahul Singh.
Singh, a 1993 graduate of the Paramedic program, won a 2011 Premier’s Award as Outstanding Health Sciences graduate at the 2011 Colleges Ontario Higher Education Summit in late November.
He was presented with the award in recognition of creating GlobalMedic, a frontline medical agency which provides cost-effective disaster relief around the world in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
Created in 1999, GlobalMedic is globally recognized as an innovative and efficient aid organization. Singh has led more than 50 missions to more than 30 countries. He credits the growth of GlobalMedic to the many paramedics, police, community workers and nurses that are part of his organization and have graduated from Ontario colleges.
“Humber College’s Paramedic program put students in a position where we are actually trained to save lives,” Singh says. “When you work on an international disaster, you need to be equipped and trained well to get in there and be effective. Humber gives students that opportunity.”
GlobalMedic’s innovative methodology is designed to empower domestic communities and it has developed a deployment system which ensures aid workers and supplies reach those in need. This strategy has been imitated by other aid organizations. Recent initiatives by GlobalMedic include donating surplus firefighting equipment to developing countries and providing families with access to clean water. Since its inception, the organization has donated more than $10 million worth of relief items worldwide.
Singh’s work has led to many notable accolades. In 2006, he was awarded the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Humanitarian of the Year Award by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In 2009, he was named one of “Canada’s Top 40 Canadians under 40” which was followed in 2010 by being named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
“I am extremely honoured to have been selected as the recipient of this award,” says Singh. “Being a paramedic is a very stressful job. You're constantly put into situations where you have to make a critical decision that affects someone's life. Humber prepared me to make sound assessments in an instant when a life is at stake.”
