An Evening with Todd Shea: The Improbable American

Above is a picture of Todd Shea, CEO of Shine Humanity and founder of Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services (CDRS).

Last Friday I had the grand opportunity of attending a presentation and music session by the bold and courageous humanist Todd Shea. The event was held at Kings College London and hosted by the organization United Pakistan Front.

I was really impressed with Todd’s exceptional struggle for the cause of humanity, his service to the Pakistanis affected by the Kashmir earthquake, his own humility and commitment to justice. I just wish I had half the commitment he has in anything I do but then again his cause is far greater and noble.

When you first look at Todd he really strikes you as an unlikely character for the station he has acquired as a rescue worker and a CEO of a disaster relief organization. From the looks of it he just seems like your average McDonalds munching American hippie who just walked in to give a talk wearing nothing more than a casual black shirt and a denim jeans. In fact in some part of his speech he testified that by the age of 18 he was a cocaine addict, but once you hear his half-baked cocktail of English and Urdu you really begin to wonder out of all the places how did he end up in Chikar (Pakistan).

Well here's his story........

On September the 12^th, 2001 Todd had a performance due at the renowned CBGB music club and off course due to the unfaithful events of 9-11 the gig never materialized. However 9-11 had kindled a new spark in the then Todd Shea who, prompted by the plane crash, immediately emptied his van and began helping the first responders with supplies and logistical support at Ground Zero. In the presentation Todd recounted 9-11 as a life changing experience and subsequently he put an indefinite halt to his musical career and dedicated himself to rescue work.

In 2004 he volunteered in Sri-Lanka after the tsunami and following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 he again enlisted himself in another organisation (whose name I can’t remember) in which apart from saving people he also occupied himself in saving pet Kuttahs (dogs) and Billis(cats) which had become trapped in the rubble. He remarked, “I love these animals and I was amazed at how they managed to survive even when the houses were filled with water nearly up to the ceilings.”

Once the earthquake hit Pakistan, Todd packed his bags and set out for the alien country absent of any idea of what to expect when he got there. In fact once he dived into the field work he became so engrossed with his work that he recalled, “For the first few weeks I didn’t even know that I was in Kashmir. I just knew that I was some place in Pakistan.”

After witnessing the devastation of the land and the people of Kashmir first hand and having fallen in love with the country and its culture Todd has spent almost six years as a disaster relief worker living in Pakistan.

Todd has also been greatly critical of United States foreign policy which he said, “To a great extent has had negative and adverse consequences for the people of Pakistan.” He also resented the stereotypical portrayal of the country’s people by the US media; after showing a picture of him holding the infant daughter of a bearded Muslim he remarked, “The US media tends to show every bearded Muslim as a member of the Taliban but this man allowed me to hold his children as if I were a relative. He treated me as if I were a part of his family.” 

In 2006 he founded Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services (CDRS), a charity hospital in Chikar which provides primary healthcare and treatment to about 200,000 people annually, the majority of whom are women and children. Although the group’s annual budget is set to about $ 200,000 per year providing prompt medical services is a real difficult job primary due to the lack of input from the end of the Pakistani government. Balanced budgeting is a huge source of contention in the country with the government devoting only about one percent of the budget for healthcare provisions. To make matters worse a great proportion of the appropriated budget is either wasted or lost by the time it reaches rural communities of the country. As a result most of the funding for the organizations rescue work comes from foreign countries like the United States, the UK and institutions like UNICEF. 

Following the floods in Pakistan and other various international disasters like the Haiti earthquake and the Japanese tsunami, in April of 2009 Todd founded another organization called Shine Humanity which serves to provide long term sustainable and affordable quality healthcare services to disaster victims worldwide.

Todd Shea firmly believes the health is a fundamental human right and has devoted him-self to raising the flag of humanity throughout the world, a duty I think that all of us share and are obligated to pursue.  Therefore head on to http://www.shinehumanity.org/ and donate whatever you can.

Every penny counts! 

After Todd went through his presentation he sat down and took to the guitar playing a few Atif Aslam songs and Dil Dil Pakistan. I didn't record the event but luckily I have found another video,which I have posted below, where he sings Dil Dil Pakistan and a few others in his American Desi accent !

Here is a small documentary on Todd Shea from the New York Times.