By Robyn Doolittle, Toronto Star
The newspaper was laid out across the kitchen table, which had recently been cleared of the lunchtime dishes. Munching on a clementine, 4-year-old Bilaal looked curiously at the black and white pages while his father read the daily news aloud, carefully tracing the words with his finger so Bilaal could follow along. It was Jan. 27, 2001. Aman Rajan was reading an article about a devastating earthquake in Gujarat, India. Thousands were dead. Villages had been destroyed. An Ismaili priest had been crushed in the rubble.
"I told him, ‘You know, Gujarat is where our ancestors came from. Our great-grandfather was born there before he immigrated to Kenya. And the priest, he is from our mosque,' " Rajan recalls telling Bilaal. "We were encouraging him to read and so we were always reading to him. But on that day, I could tell he wasn't just following along with the words, he took in the meaning of the story. He was thinking about the people."
Bilaal looked up at his father and said he wanted to help.
Rajan chuckles with paternal pride, remembering the moment.
"I said, ‘Well, Bilaal, what are you going to do?' He was eating one of those little oranges and he said, ‘I'm going to go and sell these and raise money.' And I said, ‘Okay,' " says Rajan, now 44.
In big, wobbly block letters, Bilaal printed "India Earthquake Relief Fund" on a piece of paper, then taped it to the front of a brown paper bag.
His mother, Shamim, zipped him into his navy blue jacket and yellow floppy hat, and for the next three hours the small family of three trekked up and down their Richmond Hill neighbourhood selling clementines for a cause - three for a dollar or one for 50 cents. When they ran out, Rajan nipped over to the local Loblaws and bought another box. By dinner, they'd made $350.
"Not bad for a 4-year-old," says Rajan.
Today Bilaal is anything but the average 12-year-old, though he won't admit it. He has travelled the world as a UNICEF child ambassador, was named one of the country's Top 20 under 20 this past summer, and recently added published author to his already lengthy resumé.
His book, Making Change: Tips From an Underage Overachiever, was released last month. The 150-page, step-by-step guide to changing the world includes a how-to chapter on public speaking, a section on dealing with the media and tips on how to convince large corporations to get on board.
Bilaal runs a website, handsforhelp.org, has a blog and has raised millions of dollars for various causes.
Three years after the Indian earthquake, the 2004 hurricane in Haiti captured Bilaal's attention. He sold nearly 1,000 boxes of cookies donated by his father's company, raising $6,000. Still not satisfied, he went online and searched out large corporations he thought might donate to the cause. He sent them letters. Called. Sent emails. And if they didn't reply, he tried again.
His efforts paid off when APOTEX, a pharmaceutical company, donated $342,700 worth of prescription medicine. Heinz Canada donated more than 2,000 cases of baby food. And it was all because of a determined 8-year-old.
Eager to tackle more, Bilaal raised $1,200 for HIV/AIDS research by selling decorative plates he made at home out of beads.
When the tsunami struck southeast Asia a few months later, Bilaal had established himself as an accomplished, albeit pre-teen, fundraiser. As the devastation dominated the news, Bilaal contacted UNICEF and said he was ready to tackle something on a nationwide scale.
So on Dec. 31, 2004, just a week after the tsunami plowed through the Indian Ocean, Bilaal issued the UNICEF Canada Kids Earthquake Challenge. He challenged every child to raise $100 with a goal of reaching $1 million. Bilaal flew across the country, visiting Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, to speak about how he, just a regular kid, had been able to make a difference in the world.
In the end, with the federal government matching contributions dollar for dollar, Bilaal's challenge garnered nearly $4 million in aid efforts for tsunami-affected regions.
Other than his charity work, Bilaal is focused on school. He's got his sights set on Harvard Business School, but after that he'd like to be a neurosurgeon and an astronaut. Not one or the other: both.
On a typical day, Bilaal likes to play football in the backyard of his family's Richmond Hill home. "I'm not that great at it," he laughs. "Other than that, I love to get outside and play with my dog. I chase him around. He chases me around," he says. "He's a Scottish terrier. You know, the Monopoly dog? The little piece in Monopoly? Basically that's him, but black . . . His name's Bobby. He's turning 5 coming up in March."
As for television, Bilaal doesn't watch it. He doesn't have a gaming system - and doesn't want one.
Besides his work around the world - he has volunteered in Tanzania and Ecuador - Bilaal has been exposed to many cultures right at home.
"There are a lot of different influences in our household," Aman Rajan says. From cuisine to entertainment, the family rotates through African, South Asian and American choices. These influences spring from the experience of Bilaal's parents' families, who immigrated to Kenya from India in the 1870s. It was a tough time in India, says Bilaal's 74-year-old grandfather, Mansur Rajan. They were part of a wave of migration to Africa, particularly by the Ismaili community.
The Rajans speak mainly English, although they speak Gujarati as well, especially when Bilaal's grandparents are visiting. But above all, Rajan says, they are proud Canadians.
"My parents were immigrants and I've seen what this country has done. One of our family's driving forces has always been to give back to the community, to the country that has fostered us and actually welcomed us and encouraged us to practise our own beliefs."
This is something Rajan and his wife, Shamim, tried to instill in Bilaal from a young age. Although, he adds, the only one who can take credit for what Bilaal has achieved is Bilaal.
"People ask all the time, are we pushing?" says Rajan. "Never. Never do we push."
In fact, the Rajans have taken to leaving the room whenever Bilaal is giving an interview, just so no one accuses them of feeding him lines.
"This is all Bilaal. We encourage it. And anything that he does, it doesn't surprise us," his father says. "He's a very out-of-the-box thinker. He's very good at doing what he does. He's very passionate at what he does."
At school, St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Bilaal is a bit of a celebrity. Last year, he established a leadership award for the middle school student who has completed the most volunteer hours. He also sits on the school's outreach committee, which raises funds for various charities and local projects.
And if that weren't enough, he's on the school ski and tennis teams.
"Some people say I've done extraordinary things. And it's good to know that I have helped out in the world," he says. "But there's nothing that makes me any different than other kids. I just want other kids to know that they can take action. They too can make a difference."
Classmates say they are inspired by what he has accomplished. Nicholas Whitelaw, 12, began volunteering at his church, motivated by Bilaal's example. "Right now I have 550 hours," says Nicholas. "I really think it's amazing what he's done. He really does make a difference and it makes me want to do what he's doing."
Justin Ford, 13, a longtime friend, says he's proud of what Bilaal has done. "I still can't believe he wrote a book," says Justin. "And I actually really want to read it."
But Justin knows a different Bilaal from the one who's 12-going-on-30 and who is frequently profiled in the news. He knows the Harry Potter fanatic, the U2 fan, the kid whose favourite pizza is mushroom-and-pineapple and who likes to play the drums.
On Halloween, Justin, Bilaal and their friend Michael Stramaglia, 13, went trick-or-treating in the Mount Pleasant area of Toronto. Bilaal dressed as Braveheart. Michael was the guy who kills Braveheart - though none of them could remember his name - while Justin just donned a mask and a cape.
It was probably their last year, Justin says.
It's just after 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 12. The Memorial Chapel on St. Andrew's campus is filled to capacity for Bilaal's book launch.
Nigel Fisher, the president and chief executive of UNICEF Canada, local MPP Reza Moridi and Farley Flex, a UNICEF ambassador and Canadian Idol judge, are all there to lend their support.
Bilaal confidently strides to the front of the room. He speaks with the poise of a seasoned motivational speaker. He pauses for emphasis and paces across the stage with ease. If not for the oversized navy blazer, it would be easy to forget Bilaal was born the same year "Macarena" topped the charts.
"Our dreams are those visions of success that pull us forward to meet our goals," he concludes, grinning through blueberry-hued braces.
"Even great dreamers need imagination to achieve goals. They also need to believe in their dreams as well as take responsibility for being in charge of doing whatever it takes to make those dreams come true."
View the original article from Toronto Star
