Yasmine Virji, from Torrance, California has silently worked to improve the quality of life of those around her in a diverse number of positions. Arriving in Los Angeles in 1980 from Karachi, she took a position as Executive Secretary for the Council for the Western United States and continued to serve in a voluntary capacity at the Council, also being appointed to work on Jamatkhana Development in the 1990s. She has been an active proponent of the PIAR program, and many REC endeavors as a principal, in addition to being a uniformed volunteer.
A strong supporter of seniors and the disabled, Yasmine Virji has been a patient advocate, visiting or accompanying the elderly to hospital visits, and providing companionship at nursing homes. She helps them access social security benefits including Medicare, Medicaid and more. She is entrusted as a liaison and translator between the immigration officers and Jamati members and has helped those with special needs to gain admission to programs and to find resources that enable a better quality of life.
With all this, Yasmine has also remained a committed member of providing end-of-life services through the Mayat and Ghusal Committee. This service of last rites is a particularly special duty for her. When discussing seva, Yasmine believes that “service must be from the soul without any acknowledgment, and that is how your blessings multiply.”
Moving from Afghanistan to India, and eventually to Sacramento in 2017, Parisa Mehry immediately delved into her passion for service and has already made quite an impact in her local community. She faced many challenges adapting to a new culture, but remarked, “my faith in the Imam, my involvement in seva, and celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, provided me a great sense of strength, and eased the transition.”
Parisa finds her greatest joy in seva, where she serves in multiple capacities and advocates for those less fortunate. Her role as a youth facilitator began almost immediately where she was able to contribute her skills to her Jamat. She became a REC teacher, and ECDC facilitator. Her role as a Quality of Life caseworker is an area in which she feels she can reach out meaningfully to those around her. She is also a member of the Ismaili Women’s Group in Sacramento, which empowers women to achieve their fullest potential and finds avenues to enable women to attain their goals. Recently, she became a board member of the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board.
Beyond the walls of Jamatkhana, Parisa works for Amazon and is assisting her family financially. She says “I did not realize that when I moved here, many of my qualifications would not be recognized. It is hard to start from scratch but it is not impossible.” Her tenacity is clear, as is her dedication to service and the Jamat.
Samina Kajani is another true exemplar for women in service. A Karachi native who resides in California, she is a graduate of the Aga Khan University School of Nursing, and Pulmonary Critical Care nurse. Her lifelong dream was to be a physician, however, being the youngest of nine siblings, she took a different path. Her advanced training in nursing has provided her with a unique avenue to provide the utmost care to critically-ill patients.
Nursing and helping the sick, hopeless and weak, is a passion for Samina. “You become strong enough to face death but gentle enough to care for the newborn,” she says, and for those who wish to join the profession, you have to “have the mindset of serving humanity and the rest will follow you. You are not just a nurse -- you will be a nurse who is actually an angel in disguise.”
Aside from Samina’s professional life, she also serves as an REC teacher, Aga Khan Health Board representative for Sacramento, I-CERV Volunteer, and Jamati volunteer. She serves as a disaster relief volunteer for the American Red Cross, and as a volunteer and health speaker for the American Heart Association. With this, she has a personal mandate to improve the fitness within the Jamat by starting cardio, strength-training and yoga classes to inculcate a daily habit of wellness.
To Samina, seva means “Service with heart and passion without name, fame or recognition. Seva done with love and devotion is bandagi in its purest form, it helps purify the soul and bring us closer to the Imam.” Her next adventure for her Time and Knowledge Nazrana will be in Tajikistan, where she will teach and certify nurses for advanced practice.
