Australia celebrates National Volunteer Week (18 to 24 May 2020) to give recognition and encourage people to give their time for various social activities.
Gujaratis living in Australia are also volunteering in the fields of environment, medicine, education, social and religious causes.
Free hospital service
Bhanuben Shah, who lives in Perth, Western Australia, previously worked as a secretary in a hospital. But, for the last 10 years, she has been volunteering at the hospital.
Every Wednesday she contributes her time in many ways to the St. John of God Hospital in the Subiaco area of Perth.
She serves as a receptionist in the office as per the need of the hospital. In addition, when young mothers come to the hospital for workshops Bhanu assists with looking after the newborn babies. Sometimes she delivers newspapers and magazines to the patients and sometimes files medical notes written by doctors and nurses.
Bhanuben Shah Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
I am very happy to give something back to society.
A couple maintaining the beauty of the lake
Originally from Mumbai, Parsi Gujarati Armitiben and her husband Ronnie Mistri previously taught yoga at the Bullcreek Community Center and helped cook for a community group run by people from Sri Lankan and South India.
They have now taken up the project to clean up the area around Harves Lake, located in the Kobam area by removing weeds and plastic waste.
In addition, they also volunteer to plant new plants to keep the waste from going into the lake. In addition to working towards maintaining the beauty of the lake they also provide services as needed in the local community.
Perth based volunteers Amirti and Ronnie Mistry Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
Restaurant service
Originally from Gujarat Arun Kumar and Vijay Kumar cook at the Annalakshmi Restaurant in Perth where people of all ethnicity not only come and enjoy the food but also volunteer at the restaurant to cook and serve the meals
The pair also helps with setting up and minding the stalls at festivals and fairs without charging any service fees. Vijaykumar uses his hobby of photography, to provide free photography and videography services at cultural events.
Service at the Salvation Army store
Deepakbhai Gosarani, moved from Kenya to Perth. He has been volunteering at the Salvation Army store every Monday and Wednesday for many years. He also spends over 10 hours a week teaching English language classes at the local TAFE.
Currently, both these organizations have been closed or have been running online for the last two and a half months due to the coronavirus lockdown but Deepak is looking for new ways to serve the community. He helps with the IT needs for Gujarati speaking seniors.
A group of doctors, accountants and other professionals in Perth provide free assistance at religious and social events during the Hindu holy month of Shravan. In addition to not charging any fee for their service, each one of them donates at these events.
Perth based volunteer Dipakbhai Gosrani Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
Service through Gujarati language classes
In Perth, Gujarati language classes are held every Saturday at the Riverton library by the Mast Cultural and Language Association. The volunteer teachers also help with pick-up and drop-off for children where parents are unable to do so.
Students are also introduced to volunteering during these classes by involving them in cleaning and arranging chairs in the library.
Perth based volunteers. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
In addition, Nehalbhai Patel introduces children to Gujarati language and culture by conducting free Gujarati language classes at his home in Darch.
Kaushalbhai Patel along with six other members organise free Gujarati language classes in Piara Water area.
