[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16084-16085]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS OF UMMA COMMUNITY CLINIC ON ITS 10TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House tonight to celebrate 
the achievements of the UMMA Community Clinic upon the occasion of its 
10th anniversary. The UMMA Community Clinic is a community health 
facility that serves uninsured and impoverished families in my 
congressional district.
  The UMMA Clinic was established by Muslim medical students at UCLA 
who wanted to put their faith and their patriotism into action by 
serving their community and their country. UMMA is an acronym for the 
University Muslim Medical Association. In Arabic, the world ``umma'' 
means ``community,'' an appropriate name for this extraordinary 
institution.
  The students who founded UMMA were inspired by their Islamic faith, a 
faith which told them to help their neighbor, a faith which told them 
that if they saw something wrong, they must fix it. And today the UMMA 
Clinic is fixing people's lives with its healing hands, every day, 
quietly and tirelessly.
  When the UMMA Clinic opened 10 years ago, it was the first charitable 
medical facility in the United States founded by Muslim Americans. At a 
time when Muslim Americans face unfair discrimination and scrutiny, the 
UMMA Clinic allows Muslims to put their faith into action through 
service, selflessness and compassion. The UMMA Clinic provides Muslim 
Americans with an institution in which they can take pride, one that 
enriches the community with services that save lives.
  The UMMA Clinic serves as a primary health care source for over 
15,000 children and adults in South Los Angeles, many of whom otherwise 
would have no access to primary health care services. It has a patient 
clientele from every conceivable faith, culture and background. Over 95 
percent of the beneficiaries of UMMA's services are not Muslim.
  UMMA takes a comprehensive approach to health care. At the UMMA 
Clinic, patients can see a regular family doctor who knows them and who 
cares about them. They can return again and again to the same family 
doctor who helps them stay one step ahead of illness by encouraging 
them to eat properly and live a healthy life-style and making certain 
they get all of their physicals, vaccinations, lab tests, mammograms 
and other health screenings.
  The UMMA Clinic has received funding and support from several other 
organizations, including Kaiser Permanente, the California Endowment, 
and Islamic Relief.
  UMMA has also become a committed advocate for the fundamental rights 
of all citizens to have access to quality health care services, 
regardless of their race, religion or socioeconomic status.
  The UMMA Clinic is one of the many ways that Muslim Americans serve 
their country. Muslim Americans have made contributions in many 
different fields. They are our clerks and laborers, our doctors and 
lawyers, our teachers and researchers. They work in our government, and 
they serve honorably in our military.
  UMMA represents the best of the Muslim American community. UMMA 
embodies high ethics and moral standards, and it was founded as a 
result of the obligation Muslim Americans feel to ensure the well-being 
of everyone in society. If you want to see what Muslim Americans truly 
represent, go to the UMMA Community Clinic in my district and you will 
see it there.
  Charitable organizations like the UMMA Clinic cannot solve the 
Nation's health crisis alone, but their efforts are making an 
invaluable contribution by healing countless people who have been 
relegated to society's margins.

                              {time}  2230

  I am proud to congratulate the UMMA Community Clinic upon its 10th 
anniversary for the critical health services it provides to the 
medically underserved in Los Angeles. I salute the UMMA Community 
Clinic and all of the people who run it, and I salute the Muslim 
American community for making it possible.
  I am honored to be joined in Washington today by several founders of 
the UMMA Community Clinic and other individuals who are affiliated with 
the UMMA Clinic. These individuals met with me today to discuss the 
work that they are doing at UMMA.
  1. Yasser Aman, 2. Mansur Khan, 3. Altaf Kazi, 4. Rushdi Abdulcader, 
5. Nishi Abdulcader, 6. Aisha Siddiq, 7. Safia Siddiq. 8. Raziya 
Shaikh, 9. Charles Sadler, 10. Hoori Sadler, 11. Ahmed Elbendary, 12. 
Jill Elbendary, 13. Angela Coron, 14. Mahdy Bray, and 15. Diana Bonta.
  I welcome these people to our nation's Capitol and I congratulate 
them for the founding of the UMMA Community Clinic and for their 
continuing commitment to provide quality health care to uninsured and 
impoverished families in my congressional district.

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