Community has been the focus for this South L.A. health center

by SANDY BANKS

UMMA Community Clinic — its acronym translates to “community” in Arabic — may have its roots in Islamic tenets, but its heart is in South L.A., where it has provided free and low-cost healthcare for 15 years.

Hafifa Siddiq, administrative support intern at UMMA Community Clinic, reads to children during a festival marking the South L.A. health center’s 15th anniversary. PHOTO/Christina House

The open bar offered nothing more potent than lemonade. The dinner program included a break for evening prayers. The entertainment was a Farsi rendition of a Sufi prayer by Persian singer Sussan Deyhim.

But the fundraiser for UMMA Community Clinic at Riviera Country Club this spring was no more a Muslim event than UMMA is a Muslim health center.

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