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Toronto paramedic Rahul Singh is one of the 100 people who have most affected the world, according to Time magazine.

But, says the founder of GlobalMedic, “the honour’s not about me. The honour is about the team.”

Singh, a member of Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416 CUPE for the last eight years, founded GlobalMedic in 1998. Members of his team were among the first disaster responders on the ground after a massive earthquake hit Haiti. An essay by Haitian President Jean-Max Bellerive praising Singh and GlobalMedic will appear in Time magazine.

GlobalMedic is made up of paramedics, police and firefighters who provide rescue and water purification services in disasters and are involved in capacity building at other times. Teams have travelled to countries like Iraq and Sri Lanka at the request of the United Nations to train medics as part of projects like landmine removal.

Paramedics are the crux of the organization because, with their medical background, it is easier to train them in rescue and water purification,” said Singh, noting that many of GlobalMedic’s volunteers from around Ontario are CUPE members. “If you look at unions across the board, this is another form of union members working on social justice. They’re out there helping people who might otherwise die.”

As he prepares to travel to New York for a Time magazine awards gala, Singh is thinking about the fundraising possibilities. To learn more about the organization or to make a donation, please visit Globalmedic.ca.