It's Harmony Week!
Established to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity and coinciding with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, this week provides the platform to acknowledge the contributions of multicultural communities to Australian society.
42% of Uniting AgeWell’s employees were born overseas. Our team now includes representation from 363 countries who speak 38 languages. Reflecting our core values of Inclusion this week we will be celebrating the varied journeys and career pathways of just some of our valued employees and we encourage you to read their stories below.
Celebrating diversity at Uniting AgeWell
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Yang Xu
The Chinese New Year took on a whole new meaning for residents in a Launceston aged care facility who went around greeting each other with Xin Nian Hao (Happy New Year).
Registered Nurse (RN2) Yang Xu has ordered a traditional Chinese outfit to wear during Harmony Week to surprise the residents at Uniting AgeWell’s Newnham Community, Aldersgate Village.
“They love hearing about China, its culture and my life growing up there,” explains Yang. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing this with them.”
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Selin Renchi
There’s an honesty and a directness about Selin Renchi that is refreshing.
“I came to Australia for a better future,” says the Senior Care Manager at Uniting AgeWell Manor Lakes Community in Melbourne’s west. “There are so many more opportunities here for nurses than back home in India.”
She is forging ahead in her career, working in an environment she enjoys and feeling supported by Uniting AgeWell, which champions inclusion.
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Sandy Saplota
Computer whiz Saroj (Sandy) Sapkota found himself facing an unusual problem. With both Computer Engineering and IT degrees under his belt, he discovered he was hardwired for aged care.
He’d been working in aged care to earn money while studying at the Institute of Technology in Melbourne, and found himself finding more meaning in interacting with older people than with computers.
So, he studied a Cert III in Aged Care and is now an Extended Care Assistant at Uniting AgeWell Mornington Community Lillian Martin and has never been happier.
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Asmita Khanal
It’s home from home for Registered Nurse Asmita Khanal.
Asmita, who moved from Nepal to Australia in 2019, has been at Uniting AgeWell Sorell Community Ningana for nearly two years, and is delighted that about half the staff speak Nepali. In fact with half the staff from international backgrounds – mostly Nepalese and Indian - the Residential Services Manager Melitta Baker is learning to speak Nepali.
Asmita studied to be a registered nurse in India and worked in hospitals back home in Nepal before moving to Australia to study a Masters Degree in Public Health at Torrens University in Sydney. While studying she worked as a carer at an aged care facility and also completed the bridging of her Nursing Degree to align with Australian standards.
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Andrey Song
Audrey Song knows full well the emotional balancing act so many people who migrate face: absolutely loving their new life in Australia, yet feeling guilty they are so far away from their families on the other side of the world.
“To further complicate things, both my husband and I are from the one-child generation in China,” explains the Senior Care Manager at Uniting AgeWell Camberwell Community Condare Court. “Our parents are getting older, and there is no one else around to share the responsibility of caring for them one day.”
Audrey knows full well what a huge responsibility caring for older people is. She started working at Condare Court four years ago and provides the best possible holistic care she can to the residents. She started out as a Care Manager, was promoted and now even stands in as Residential Services Manager.
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Rochelle Kapp
Every day Rochelle Kapp wakes up grateful that she and her little family won’t become the latest statistics in the ongoing farm murders across South Africa.
Ten months ago Rochelle packed a few suitcases of clothing, bought one-way tickets and flew with her two children to join her husband who manages an avocado farm in Wood Wood, just outside Swan Hill.
Now her son, 8 and her daughter, 5, are happy in school and Rochelle has started work as a Home Care Domestic Support Worker at Uniting AgeWell’s home care office at Loddon Mallee North. And this beautiful area in regional Victoria that Rochelle and her family live in is starting to feel like home.
Maraia Waqangau
After the death of her partner Maraia Waqangau moved back to Swan Hill –but never imagined her new-found friends would change the course of her life.
“I used to pop in and spend time with my neighbour, who is a client at Uniting AgeWell,” explains Maraia. “And one day her daughter told me ‘You’re so good with older people, you should apply for a job there.’ Then the person across the road, who also works at Uniting AgeWell, told me, ‘You really should come and work with us!”
So, with encouragement from all sides, Maraia started her role as Home Care Domestic Support Worker at Uniting AgeWell Loddon Mallee North Home Care Programs a year ago, and has not looked back.
We're creating sacred spaces for all spiritualities
Every morning, a 97 year old resident sits in the Multi-Faith room at Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care, and breathes in the tranquility and serenity.
The room is open to all – residents, staff, families, volunteers, and visitors. Its primary purpose is to provide an uninterrupted peaceful space, to support the spiritual or religious needs and practices of users from a broad range of religious, secular and spiritual backgrounds.
