Mohammad H. Mohseni donated $20 million for a new Urologic Sciences Institute at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.Supplied
The organizer: Mohammad Mohseni
The gift: $20-million
The cause: Funding treatment and prevention of urologic diseases
As a child growing up in Iran, Mohammad Mohseni learned about the importance of education and philanthropy from his great-grandfather.
“We are a very old family in Iran and my great-grandfather established a huge endowment for his children, and the emphasis was on education and health,” Mr. Mohseni recalled from his home in Vancouver.
The fund helped him get an education in Europe and pursue a career in engineering. It also gave the family the resources they needed to leave the country when the 1979 Iranian revolution toppled the monarchy and created an Islamic republic.
Mr. Mohseni, 85, came to Canada in 1981 and started ECS Electrical Cable Supply Ltd., a Richmond, B.C.-based company that provides wire, cable and related services to customers around the world.
As the business grew, Mr. Mohseni created a charitable foundation to help other people pursue their passions in education and health. “I’m just repeating what my great-grandfather had done for us,” he said.
Mr. Mohseni has donated more than $21-million to the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. That includes a $20-million gift to help create a centre for urologic research and patient care. The M. H. Mohseni Institute of Urologic Sciences, which has received $65-million in total funding, will be home to six specialized centres, each focused on a key area such as prostate cancer, kidney transplants, sexual health and adolescent care. It will be part of the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
“I don’t believe in funding buildings,” said Mr. Mohseni. “This is a scientific thing, it’s a living thing.”
Mr. Mohseni has been fascinated and impressed for years by the work of researchers in Vancouver. “So, giving money to them is a good thing,” he added with a laugh.
Along with his great-grandfather, Mr. Mohseni said he draws inspiration from Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity and served impoverished people in Calcutta, India.
“They are the inspiration I’ve had all these years,” he said. “And I’ve always said if I make it someday, then I should pay back.”
pwaldie@globeandmail.com