Proactive and resourceful doctor, Shodhan Persaud, is a “Special Person”

May 17, 2020 News, Special Person

By Malisa Playter Harry

Looking for an alternative form of medicine that works for everyone may be a gruelling task since many are not qualified to offer such a service. But in East Canje, Berbice lives a medical practitioner who is deemed an asset in this regard. He has rendered such service to many people, not only in the ancient county but there is talk about him helping many more in other parts of the country as well. Many have travelled long hours just to visit this doctor’s clinic since he returned to Guyana after spending some time overseas.

The Persaud clan

The forever smiling “chatter box” from the small village of Betsy Ground, East Canje, is said to be an alternative medicine extraordinaire.
His name you asked? He is Dr. Shodhan Persaud called “Nick”. In fact there are reports that from the time of his birth on April 2nd, 1954 to this day, he has been impacting the lives of many. His witty persona has allowed him to be a “people person” and it would not be incorrect to say that his pleasant personality traits blends well with the profession he chose.
Being able to stand in his presence would give just about anyone the impression that Dr. Persaud has had a trouble-free life. But he believes in making the most of everything and every situation hurled at him.
NO BED OF ROSES
Born to parents Punraji and Haran Persaud, he grew up with thirteen siblings, four of whom have passed on. Those still alive are Hector, Charandass, Billy, Terry, Kalawattie, Shazia, Shereen, Emily and Nandranie.
He was the seventh among the 14 and he recalled during a recent interview that their upbringing was no bed of roses. “My father

In the company of his brothers

and mother worked in the sugar and rice fields, and my mom, well, she never went to school after the age of 11, but they were both fluent in English and Hindi,” he shared.
He recalled that it was while they worked to take care of him and siblings that “they read, yes, they read”.
Reading, he said, helped to lay the foundation for the fountain of knowledge he developed over the years.
“We were self-taught because our parents did not know much you know, they were focused on working to ensure that we were taken care of but reading gives you all kinds of knowledge and so that is what myself and siblings did,” he quipped.
Dr. Persaud attended the Betsy Ground Primary School in 1960 and wrote the Common Entrance examination to gain a place at the Lower Corentyne Secondary School. There he wrote the GCE O’ Levels and was among the top students with seven subjects. The school he attended topped the country the year (1972) he wrote his exam, he divulged.
According to Dr. Persaud, he developed a love for art and drama during his school years and during that time too his love for reading increased.

Dr. Shodhan Persaud is a Special Person

CLOSE CONNECTION
Even though he and his siblings diligently fed their mental capacity with the fruit of knowledge, this did not stop them from sharpening their skills in the sugar and rice fields as well. Dr. Persaud shared how he and his siblings toiled alongside their parents in the fields, an activity he engaged in from the age of nine. The fields, to which he referred, were all owned by his parents, which they left to him and his siblings when they passed away.
As a boy he remembered developing a close bond with one of his sisters, that sister – Savitri Persaud – like his parents, has since passed on to the great beyond. But according to Dr. Persaud, he has peace in his heart that she has gone to a better place. Memories of her he will forever cherish.
Reflecting on his upbringing, he revealed that the older brothers of the Persaud clan were each given the responsibility to take care of a sister. Since Savitri was the fifth sister he had the responsibility of caring for her until she died. It was for that very reason that he was able to build a close connection with her.
“She passed at the age of 52 but when she was alive, she was a professional singer and did a lot of charity work for over 300 temples in Canada where she lived after leaving Guyana. She made quite a few albums even one with the famous Devendra Pooran. She made me very proud,” said Dr. Persaud of his dearly departed sister.

With his female staffers

“When I hear her songs it gets me emotional; she took pride in music and she loved me like a father figure and I wanted to learn from her too,” he said as he shared a melodious song she’d sang.
Tears welled in his eyes as he spoke of his sister. He disclosed that although her death was a major blow to him, he was able to muster-up enough courage to move on with his life and even made a name for himself.
In moving on with his life, Dr. Persaud treasured the birth and development of his daughters – Lalita, Pratima and Ameeta. They all reside overseas.
EVOLUTION
As he reflected on his professional life, Dr. Persaud disclosed that it was quite a tough journey. In fact he revealed that it wasn’t after dabbling in about 40 jobs that he was able to eventually find his professional way.
After completing school, he began teaching at the Rose Hall Primary School. This was in 1972. He taught there for three years. He then ventured into studies at the University of Guyana in the field of public health but then decided to quit and went back to

Dr. Persaud with his three daughters

teaching. Teaching this time around was at the Gangaram Primary School thence to the Canje Secondary School where he taught Art, English and Literature.
In the year 1980 he migrated to Canada to study but two weeks later he was on his way to the United States of America instead. “I found out it was too difficult to study and maintain myself in Canada,” he divulged. In the US, Dr. Persaud said life was a bit easier and this allowed for him to remain there for 18 years during which time he had several jobs, including working at a machine shop. Added to this, he recalled, “I was selling greens on the roadside and selling fruits and vegetables at a farmers market. I did security work; I worked like a slave in factories. I stayed in America until 1998 then went back to Canada and went to school as a paralegal at the Centennial College and graduated in 2000,” he revealed.
After this he was able to practice family and civil law on his own for about two years but then he made a decision to change careers. This, he said, was “because I didn’t like doing that (law) so then I went and got my teaching certificate in George Brown College.”
With his teaching qualifications in hand he was ready to teach English as a second language. However, as fate would have it by the time he was ready to seek employment there was a massive cutback in funding at the institution. “I started to do odd jobs in Canada, I worked at a Bank as a clerk, painted pipes, worked in the fuel farm and factories, etc.,” he related.

The sign positioned outside his place of business

Among the many jobs he secured over the years was one as a driver. He remembered driving an “old guy” called Jaswant Mindra. That “old guy”, Dr. Persaud recalled, is the main reason he got into natural medicine “because he was a natural medicine doctor himself”.
That fire was fuelled, he recalled, when he developed arthritis and the “old guy” shared some natural medicine remedies as a cure. “There wasn’t really a cure, and so I started studying Homeopathy (alternative medicine). I did online courses and I went to several private colleges in Toronto at the age of 55. I also studied Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine and completed studies and got my Doctorate in 2012,” Dr. Persaud disclosed.
After successfully attaining his doctorate, he started to practice natural medicine in Canada until 2018 when he decided it was time to return to his homeland. He returned with the intention of opening a clinic in order to offer the skills he was able to acquire.
Dr. Persaud said he was even more motivated to return and open his clinic here after he heard that a popular natural medicine doctor in Berbice was no longer providing that service.
“I grabbed the opportunity…it’s only been two years but it has been successful so far. I have two television shows a week, two hours a week, and every show at the end of it I end up telling the people that if you have money, I can do it and if you don’t, I will still treat them. I have a lot of cases; I find genuine persons come here; people are very honest. I feel as though my approach allows me to be successful,” said Dr. Persaud.
According to him too, “I train my staff to be like me, but I am very grateful for them; they are wonderful.” He currently has within his employ nine young ladies who are gaining a decent living. These staffers, he admitted are an exceptional support system to the services he provides daily.
Returning to practice in Guyana, Dr. Persaud was quite an easy decision given his love for his homeland. He is heartened by the fact that he is able to help make a difference in the lives of many. “All my life I wanted to help people but now I am living that dream,” he confided.
He considers what he does as extremely important especially for those who can’t necessarily afford expensive treatments for their illnesses. Dr. Persaud, in speaking of the joy he gets from “helping the people of Guyana,” said that he would encourage anyone desirous of walking in his shoe to give it a try. “Just go for it and never look back,” is the counsel offered by Dr. Persaud who is today bestowed with the title of our ‘Special Person’ of the week.

“We were self-taught because our parents did not know much you know, they were focused on working to ensure that we were taken care of but reading gives you all kinds of knowledge and so that is what myself and siblings did.”