The Heart of a Giver

You never know what impact even a small act of charity has on another person. In the case of Dr. Colin Saldanha, the seemingly simple generosity a local priest showed him after his father died when he was 14, molded in him a heart of a giver.

“It was pivotal,” remembers Dr. Saldanha, a Mississauga Catholic family physician with a long and distinguished career of public service and generosity. “I was a scout troop leader in my school in Pakistan and we were organizing a camping trip. The principal of our school, a Catholic priest, said ‘Colin I don’t see your name on the list.’ So I said, no I am not going. My mother was a recent widow and I didn’t want to ask her for the money to go on the trip. The priest said to me, and I’ll never forget this, ‘Colin you are going, and I will look after it.’ Today when I think about what he said and what it meant to me then, it still brings tears to my eyes.”

That small act of funding a camping trip for a young boy who had recently lost his father had a ripple effect that priest likely never envisioned. It set aflame a desire in that young boy to help others.

Fast forward to 1981, that young boy was now a med-school graduate. He immigrated to Canada and set up his own family practice. But his desire to help others physically as a doctor is equally matched his passion for community work. Over the years, he has received several accolades for his charitable community work, including the Governor General’s medal for volunteerism. But it all started from that one act of kindness.

“That intervention of a priest in my life at that time made all the difference to me. What can I do to help others so they aren’t robbed of a future when I have been blessed with much. It is in giving that we are emotionally and spiritually rewarded. You can make a monumental difference in someone’s life. We’re all called to help others.”

Dr. Saldanha says he holds a special place in his heart for his Church and its shepherds, the priests. He and his wife were among the main sponsors of the virtual Songs from the Seminary concert [insert link], featuring music by the St. Augustine’s seminarians in honour of Mary.

“Our Church needs strong shepherds,” he says. “If our seminarians are called to be good men of Christ, then I as a lay person want to step forward to make that journey of theirs as easy, comfortable and rewarding as I can.”

“I truly believe that any measure of success that I have achieved in my life is because of my faith. It has been my anchor. I think we are all called to give of the talents which we have all been given, no matter what they are.”