By AMIRALI RAJABALI KANJI
Edmonton, Alberta

Barakah was launched in 2017 to celebrate Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee. Ismailis across the globe celebrated the historic Diamond Jubilee year with tremendous enthusiasm and excitement. It was decided to continue with the Barakah project beyond the Jubilee Year, and Barakah now has over 260 posts related to Mawlana Hazar Imam, the Noorani family and the Ismaili Imamat. Many of these posts are photo collections that were submitted for publication in the blog so that they might be shared with readers around the world. I applaud families and individuals for their contributions (see exclusive photo collections). I would like to sincerely thank Malik Merchant of Barakah for this wonderful work to preserve our history for future generations. 

I am pleased to share these photographs that were taken by me in Kampala and Mbale during Mawlana Hazar Imam and Begum Salimah’s visit to Uganda between February 20-27, 1972. Each photo in this post has a unique Id#. Corrections to photo captions or additional information about the photos, such as names of individuals not listed in the photos, may be submitted via the feedback form or by writing to Malik at Simerg@aol.com.

Date posted: March 3, 2021.

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Born, raised and having completed his early primary education in Otuboi, Teso, Uganda, and secondary school education in Soroti and Mbale, Amir Kanji proceeded to Kyambogo University where he graduated in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering. He then held numerous positions in the public and private sectors including the Government of Uganda (Ministry of Works), Waligo Consulting Engineers, Kampala, and opened his own business Rosebury  Electrical Services, which specialized in contracting and maintenance. He also worked on projects involving the administrations of schools and hospitals, the IPS building, the Organization of African Unity Conference Centre, and the Uganda Commercial Bank, among others.

Amir migrated to Canada after the expulsion of Asians from Uganda during the fall of 1972. He first settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he held the position of Hon. Secretary of the first Ismaili Administrative Committee. He then moved to Edmonton and Toronto before returning to Edmonton. He has been an enthusiastic member of the Ismaili community for decades, and has served in different positions within its institutional structure. It may be noted that Amir was one of the first to recite the Arabic Du’a when it was first introduced in his town during the late 1950’s. His interest in photography began at a young age when his parents gifted him a Kodak Camera Box. Amir is now retired and lives in Edmonton.

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Barakah, is a special project by Simerg  and is dedicated to the textual and visual celebration of His Highness the Aga Khan, members of his family and the Ismaili Imamat. Before departing this website please take a moment to visit Barakah’s Table of Contents.