The Sanjan Sanatorium is Safe... For Now. A Wake-Up Call for Our Community.

Many of you will have seen the recent notice from the Trustees of The WZO Trust Funds and felt a wave of relief wash over you. The "Proposed Sale of 'Sanjan Sanatorium'," a notice that sent a quiet shockwave of sorrow through our community, has been put on hold.

Let us first pause and offer our deepest, heartfelt gratitude to the anonymous Donor. This individual, in an act of profound generosity, has "graciously committed support to ensure that the Sanitorium can remain operational for the next few years without any financial burden to the Trust."

This is wonderful news. A beloved community asset has been saved from the brink.

But, my friends, this is not a victory. It is a reprieve.

This is not the time to sit back and say, "All is well." This is a wake-up call. The anonymous donor has not solved the problem; they have gifted us the most precious commodity of all: time.

Why This Matters More Than Just a Building

We must understand what the Sanjan Sanatorium is. It is not just a property. It is not just a place for our fellow Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians to find affordable lodging, though that service is noble and vital.

It is in Sanjan.

This is the very soil our ancestors first stepped upon when they arrived in India, seeking refuge and a new home for our sacred Aatash. Sanjan is the cradle of the Parsi story in India. To have a community sanatorium there is to maintain a living, breathing link to our roots. It is a place for pilgrimage, for reflection, and for connecting with our history.

Losing an institution anywhere is a blow. Losing one in Sanjan would be a profound, symbolic tearing at our heritage.

The Uncomfortable Truth

The notice from the Trustees is candid and must be read carefully. They were not acting rashly. The Sanatorium has been suffering "high operational losses" for years. The Trustees, in their fiduciary duty, were forced into a painful corner. Their logic was that the funds being spent to keep the property afloat, and the proceeds from its sale, could be "better utilized for more deserving charitable purposes."

This is the heartbreaking dilemma our community leadership often faces: do we maintain our heritage, or do we fund our future?

The core problem—that the Sanatorium is not financially self-sustaining—has not gone away. The generous donor has simply paused the crisis for "the next few years."

Our Second Chance: What Do We Do Now?

What will we, as a community, do with this gift of time?

Will we do nothing, and find ourselves in this exact same heartbreaking position a few years from now, hoping another anonymous donor will step in?

Or will we, the Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian community, rise to the occasion?

This is a challenge for all of us. This is the moment for our entrepreneurs, our philanthropists, our community leaders, and every single Humdin who cares about our heritage to come together.

Can we create a new, dedicated endowment fund specifically for the Sanatorium's long-term maintenance?

Can we find new, creative ways to promote the Sanatorium (respectfully) to increase its occupancy and revenue?

Can we brainstorm a new, sustainable operational model that doesn't drain the WZO Trust's other charitable funds?

The WZO Trust Trustees have been given a temporary reprieve from a difficult decision. Let us now relieve them of this burden permanently.

This is our collective responsibility. The generosity of one has shown us the way. It must now be matched by the collective will of the many.

We have been given a second chance to save a precious piece of our heritage in the most sacred of places. Let us not waste it.