A WA R D W I N N E R S ’ P R O F I L E
HUMANITARIAN AWARD
LIFETIME / OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS AWARD
Chandrakant Sachdev
Dr. Pawan Singal
President, Rainbow Capital Properties Inc. President, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Chandrakant Sachdev was born and raised in Kenya. On his arrival in Canada in 1980 he established Rainbow group of companies selling commercial and investment properties. Under his entrepreneurial leadership these companies have significantly grown and broadened from its beginning base of brokering to offering a broad range of real estate services and investments. Chandrakant is well known in the community for his dedicated volunteerism and service at the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and BAPS Charities Inc. In year 2007, he was appointed as the President of both these organizations by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of the global BAPS organization. He has also been the President of The Canadian Museum of Cultural Heritage of IndoCanadians, which is Canada’s premier museum dedicated to showcasing/promoting the understanding of the history, civilization, diversity and cultural heritage/ancestry of Indo-Canadians. Over 2.5 million visitors, including 500 school groups, have visited the Swaminarayan complex since its inauguration 5 years ago. For Chandrakant, humanitarian activities have been a lifelong journey spanning over 55 years of service. He has truly made outstanding contributions to initiatives that permanently enrich, broaden and increase the respect for the heritage of the IndoCanadian community. Chandrakant and his wife Kokila have two sons Shretan and Shrikesh, daughter in law Sherri, and two beautiful grand-daughters, Mira and Ella.
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Director, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences St. Boniface Hospital Research Center Dr. Singal is a Professor of Physiology and is Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital and the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Dr. Singal completed his B.Sc. Hons (1968) and M.Sc. in Biophysics (1970) from Punjab University, India; Ph.D. in Physiology in 1974 from the University of Alberta. After three years in Saskatoon, Dr. Singal joined the Physiology Department at the University of Manitoba as a Lecturer, rose through the ranks and has been a Professor since 1990. He received D.Sc. degree in 1994, served as Associate Dean for the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Manitoba, and is also holder of the Naranjan S. Dhalla Chair established by the St. Boniface Hospital & Research Foundation. Internationally known for his work on oxidative stress and heart failure, Dr. Singal has made significant contributions in our understanding of heart failure due to a variety of causes, particularly as a side effect of the anticancer drugs in breast cancer patients. He has published 250 papers, has co-edited 27 books and trained more than 100 students, fellows and visiting scientists. He has received more than 60 national and international awards. The University of Manitoba has established an award called ‘Pawan K. Singal Award for Graduate Students in Cardiovascular Sciences’. His name has been added to the Wall of Fame in the University Centre at the University of Manitoba recognizing his distinguished career as a Professor. Dr. Singal is known for his leadership role in bringing together people with very diverse languages, cultures, religions and social practices for a common cause.
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