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International student praised for service by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations Inspired by world peacemakers, Anand Shunmugavel wanted to serve humanity, but he was not sure where to start in Charleston.   A native of Bodi, India, Shunmugavel told The Catalyst’s Meet column in 2006 that his idea of a perfect vacation was performing mission outreach, and that his favorite personality trait in others is altruism. Since then, Shunmugavel’s search for serving mankind has turned into a weekend mission helping victims of rape and collecting information to use in rape prevention.   Anand Shunmugavel, left, and Adnan Al-Ayoubi would like to see more international students volunteering in the community.   Shunmugavel was introduced to People Against Rape (PAR) last summer when he learned how great the need was for committed people who also are able to help people during extraordinarily challenging times.   Gentle and steady, Shunmugavel now spends many of his weekends, between a full-time schedule as a fifth-year neuroscience student at MUSC, and as a PAR volunteer.   To date, the former cardiology researcher has donated several hundred hours of service on the phone and in the hospital emergency rooms rescuing people devastated, physically and emotionally by rape. These victims include children, women, the elderly and even men—and Shunmugavel not only is a part of the round-the-clock PAR support system, he is the only active male member of this 34-year-old Tri-county-based volunteer group.   PAR praised Shunmugavel for “his compassion and constant dedication” to the victims of rape in its February newsletter.   “Anand has been a volunteer for PAR since July 2007, and since then he has been on call for over 300 hours,” wrote Tiffany Minaudo, volunteer coordinator for PAR. “Anand is the first volunteer to sign up to be on call each month and he is always willing to be on shift during Friday and Saturday, which can be our busiest nights at PAR.”   Weekends normally are the week’s busiest days for PAR, because interventions normally follow heavy drinking nights that unfortunately results in alleged assaults and police involvement, Shunmugavel said. Humanity spirit   A rape crisis volunteer can have one of the toughest humanitarian jobs, and nothing particular in Shunmugavel’s experience led him to help rape victims.   “I love serving people, as service to humanity is the best work of life, and when I was looking for a way to give back to the community, Susan Brooks (former International Student Programs director) was behind my motivation to become a community volunteer,” said Shunmugavel.   Shunmugavel said he also has been persuaded by the philosophies of Mahatma Ghandi, the legendary political and spiritual leader of early 20th century India. Ghandi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance is credited with leading India to independence and inspiring expansion of civil rights and freedom throughout the world.   Through PAR, Shunmugavel is helping to free people of fear and pain inflicted through a particularly insidious assault.   As one of about 30 volunteers, Shunmugavel gets calls from PAR, which is notified by the police, alerting him to a new rape victim needing help.   “We get a call telling us of a case,” he said. “We try to talk to them, support them. Sometimes they are in shock and cannot talk. We also talk to the person to help gather forensic information, such as what happened, how it happened and who was the offender.”   Not all calls are prompted by law enforcement. Sometimes, the victim or loved one of a victim will call PAR directly long after an incident has occurred.   “The incident could have been days, weeks or even years ago,” Shunmugavel said. “What happened once in the life may disturb the victim emotionally now, when he or she thinks about the trauma that happened before and gets exhausted and frustrated and needs help. You see the victim may do anything, for example self injury, in reacting to the enduring pain. So in such a situation, if they seek a helping hand, they may get relieved of the pain and come back to normalcy. That is the kind of help we do. …Of course, it is difficult for them to recover immediately, and healing takes time. However, timely counseling offered through PAR helps a lot of people augment the process of healing.”   Meanwhile, Shunmugavel is not only active through PAR, but at MUSC he has served as president of both the International Student Association (ISA) and the International Association.   He said PAR always needs help with volunteers who must undergo training on how to properly deal with rape victims of all ages and circumstances, and how to obtain information necessary for prevention purposes.   For information on PAR, e-mail par@peopleagainstrape.org; go to http://www.peopleagainstrape.org/, or call 754-0144, which also serves as a 24-hour rape crisis hotline. ISA president encourages volunteering More international students are being encouraged to become more active in the community and serve as volunteers—by virtue of student examples and personal experience, and by the leader of the largest international student group on campus.   Adnan Al-Ayoubi, president of the International Student Association (ISA), said he intends to push community volunteerism as part of his agenda for the coming year.   “I want to see an increase in the number of international students’ involvement in service and community activities,” said Lebanese-born Ayoubi. “There are not a lot of international students who volunteer, yet it is a humbling and inspiring experience.”   Adnan has volunteered to help patients and families at MUSC by serving families at Hope Lodge. He said he would like to see more students provide similar services and support, which could include participation in Habitat for Humanity and charity events in the Charleston area.   “It’s very humane, touching the lives directly,” said Ayoubi, a fifth-year M.D./Ph.D. student hoping to become a heart surgeon. “It helps bring smiles to the faces, especially to the terminally ill. I want to really focus on this for the ISA.”   A number of international students perform community services, including the interns from Claude Bernard University in Lyon who volunteer in community health clinics, but none of the student volunteers do so through the ISA and International Association, which attract about 200 members to their  regular meetings. Ayoubi hopes to inspire change among this group.   “I would like to have the organization push it and have its members volunteer,” said Ayoubi.     Friday, May 2, 2008 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.