Canada-based Guyanese Narine Dat Sookram has won the Regional Geriatric Programme central (RGPc) and St Peter’s Hospital Hamilton Health Sciences 11th Annual Service Awards for Geriatric Excellence (SAGE).
SAGE is a unique programme that celebrates the outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations committed to providing the highest quality of care to older adults in communities to ensure they can age with optimal health, independence, and dignity.
The awards were presented at a gala dinner recently at the Burlington Convention Centre. Fifty-eight nominations were received from six regions across Southern Ontario (Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin and Halton).
Among the winners were Sookram who volunteers at the Community Support Connections, Meals on Wheels in Kitchener, Ontario. Narine is a dedicated volunteer who is passionate and committed to seniors’ well-being and independence. “Rain, shine or snow, he is committed to making sure seniors receive the care and nourishment that they require and always ensures to deliver their meals on time every day,” a release said.
Most recently, Narine started to volunteer his time with Community Connection, “Meals on Wheels and more”, in Kitchener to deliver meals to senior’s homes, because of his passion and drive of wanting to care for others. Narine continues to drive door to door to deliver the meals, because he can see how much the seniors appreciate the service, but most importantly he also recognises the need. Narine also takes a few minutes to talk to the seniors every time he delivers the meals, because he says it helps the seniors not to feel so isolated.
For Narine, a senior is a senior, meaning that he does not choose which location he wants to deliver the lunches, but rather he goes where he is assigned, regardless of the distance from his home nor does he worry about the weather, because when it snows he gives himself extra time to make sure that the seniors will not miss their meal. “I remember during the second week of December when we had some heavy snow here in Kitchener and for that reason, one of the seniors thinks that it will affect her from having her meal on time.”
However when Narine arrived on time to deliver her meal during lunch hour, this particular senior says, “Oh you are here, I thought I wasn’t going to have my meal on time today, because of the snowy weather,” she said with a smile.
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