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Part IV. Rise and Glory
charitable organizations in India such as the Halar Drought Relief fund, the Gujarat Earthquake Relief fund, and scholarship/loan funds of the Oshwal Mumbai Samaj and the Oshwal Shikshak ane Rahat Sangh.
Canada
The history of Oshwals in Canada has been relatively short, less than 40 years. The first arrivals were the then newly qualified professionals and undergraduate university students in the late nineteen-sixties. More professionals and business entrepreneurs followed them in the nineteenseventies. This trend continued in the nineteen-eighties and nineties right into the twenty first century.
Today, there are approximately 120 Oshwal families, professionals and business owners well settled in Canada, the majority of whom reside in the Metropolitan Toronto area with pockets in the urban areas of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. There is also one Oshwal family in St. John's, Newfoundland and in Winnipeg.
The children of the early Oshwal settlers have now all grown up into young adults. They are well-educated and pursuing professions in many diverse fields such as medicine, pharmacy, actuarial profession, architecture, accountancy, computer engineering, journalism, teaching, and others.
The World Oshwal Federation
During the World Oshwal Seminar held in London in July 1985 delegates talked about forming a United Organization representing Oshwals of the whole world. After much discussion of this idea a unanimous decision was taken to go ahead and form such a body. An ad hoc committee was formed.