The people of the Canada Border Services Agency do many tasks and play many roles, whether in uniform or in plain clothes, at the border or the airport or the office — and also at home and in the community. We know that many CBSAers give generously of their time and effort to benefit various charities, but one person in particular stands out in this category: Ashid Bahl is retiring this month after a 30-year public-service career, most of it with the CBSA at the Calgary International Airport.

But the reason Border Voice is singling out Ashid for praise is not his work (which is great) but what he does in his spare time, as founder and President of the For the Love of Children Society — an international charity that has helped more than 100,000 children worldwide by providing access to medicine, medical equipment, potable water, electricity, food and shelter.

Ashid Bahl has always set out to prove that one person can make a difference — and he has a long list of awards to show for his tireless volunteer and philanthropic work.

In 2012 alone Ashid  was honoured with three such accolades. In December, Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented Ashid with one of the first-ever Prime Minister’s Volunteer Awards at a ceremony on Parliament Hill.

In May, he received The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta at a ceremony in Calgary. And in April he was named the recipient of the Heart of Calgary award, presented annually by Volunteer Calgary to one individual who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to the Calgary community through their efforts as a volunteer.

"By receiving these awards, I can help set an example for others to follow in my footsteps," Ashid says. "I like the fact that I am improving the quality of life for many children. I am trying to teach people that life is not about us — it is about making life happen for those who are less fortunate."

Nearly all of Ashid's time away from work is dedicated to his charitable activities, and he has no plans to slow down when he retires.  “I currently have 75 projects around the world,” Ashid says. “So I will have my hands full.”

Among its recent projects, Ashid’s For the Love of Children Society built a school in Honduras and helped victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. He says his next project will be to build a school for a Maasai tribe in Kenya. "They've never had a school there. The children have been taught to be herdsmen from one generation to another."

The Society also works hard closer to home. They have built school playgrounds for various communities around Calgary. They assist children in getting access to medicine, medical equipment and treatments not covered by the health system or not accessible due to financial constraints.  

In another local effort, Ashid and friends helped expand and renovate the home of a Calgary woman who has adopted and cares for 11 children with disabilities. “It was very cramped in her home,” Ashid says. “We created more room by expanding her house and adding amenities such as ramps and accessible bathrooms to help her care for her children.”

Always quick to credit others, Ashid notes that his CBSA colleagues pitched in by cleaning, swinging a hammer, even helping the woman in her garden — as they have helped him with many other initiatives, local and international.

Although he’ll no longer be with the CBSA, Ashid looks forward to keeping up these close ties with his fellow employees and working with them as he heads into retirement.

So if you happen to see Ashid at the Calgary Airport, we hope you’ll join all of us at the CBSA in wishing him the very best as he moves into the next chapter of his life of public service.