John Halani

My two sisters went to India to study high school and university education, because at that time, India seemed to be the best option because it’s cheaper than to go to England. Most of the student from Uganda went to England to study, but I didn’t. My father wasn’t that well-to-do to send me to England, so I came back and started working.

So I got that experience in the business, and then I became involved in the voluntary work. I started with the education, then moved up to the city council, became the councillor, and became the vice-chair of the finance committee, became the vice-chair of the education committee, ran some five schools under the municipal council, and helped a lot of people as well.

Then, in ’71, I became the president of the council—the Ismaili community. But before that, I was active in the community as well, sitting as a member of the council.

So, when His Highness Aga Khan came in ’72, February, I was the president of the council, and as, as a result, I was given the opportunity to host him when he came to Masaka. He stayed at our house, with lunch—lunch arranged for him. And there about fifty people who came to lunch, about twelve inside the house, and then about other fifty outside.

In 1972, when the policy was declared by Idi Amin, the Canadian government actually announced that they would be taking some five thousand Asians, into—allowing them to come to Canada. A majority of them were Ismailis, probably, and the Canadian government opened an office in Kampala, and people who wanted to go there, go to Canada did apply. And the numbers, they were waiting for the numbers, and we got the numbers.

They had opened an office in Kampala. I think there were six to seven staff that came. And Mark [Mike] Molloy, I think was one of the chief person, heading that, that delegation to Uganda.

And when we were interviewed and accepted to come to Canada, they provided us transport to come to Canada. And not only provide transport, but they also escorted us to the airport. So, and when we came here, we landed in Montreal. They, they accommodated us for a couple of days. Then they started to screen people where they should go.

But I knew some friends here, because there were some Canadian teachers working in the Aga Khan school, and I knew them, and they’d advised me to go to Vancouver. So, we chose to come to Vancouver. Uh, lot of people went to Van—Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal. Some, they stayed in Montreal.

And then they transported us to the destinations we wanted to go. We came to Vancouver. They received us at the airport. There was a committee already working with the Manpower, and they received us at the airport every night. So, once I found out there was a committee, I decided to join the committee, and I started going with the committee every night for the next fifteen days to a month. We brought the families to the hotels where the government had arranged to pay for it, and we stayed in those hotels temporarily until people found their jobs.

It takes a lot of time and energy to, to do all those things, but somehow, I’ve been, I have been prepared, or I, my interest has been, since I was a kid, to help people, and, because I got help when I came here. So, I thought I should give back, and a number of organisations I have worked with. I’ve been given awards by many of those organisations. And I appreciate the work that I do and like to continue doing what I am doing.