The theme of Harmony Week, from March 20 – 26, is ‘Everyone Belongs’ and affords us an opportunity to celebrate what we practice each and every day.
Being inclusive is enshrined in the blueprint of our organisation and is one of our five values.
A snapshot of our staff shows that 42 per cent were born overseas representing 363 countries and speaking 38 different languages.
This week we’re celebrating some of the heart-warming stories from staff members who think of Uniting AgeWell as their second family:
- Tasmanian-based Registered Nurse Roshna Bista who is determined to teach her son values from both the Nepalese and Australian cultures - the freedom to be whoever you want to be and the intergenerational Nepalese family closeness;
- Geelong-based Registered Nurse Manpreet Mangat, who is a devout Sikh and says she is devoted to giving older people the same care she’d like her parents in India to have;
- Melbourne-based occupational therapist Joyce Thuku, who says whenever she returns from visiting family in Kenya and the plane touches down at Tullamarine, she feels at home;
- Kelina Tokunai who firmly believes that “it takes a village to raise a child” after growing up in Papua New Guinea and is now witnessing this in action at the Intergenerational Learning Centre under the same roof as Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care Community;
- Tasmanian-based Care Advisor Manjeet Kaur who faced a decision no mother should ever have to: to sacrifice seeing her son for two years to secure their future in Australia or return to India to be reunited with him; and
- Anne An, who was born in China and now makes Geelong her home, says Uniting AgeWell is like a second family to her and she plans on never leaving!