Commitment to caring and to each other reaps rewards 

Caring and career progression goes hand-in-hand for these two Southcarers… even more so because they are husband and wife. Yes, this is a story about how a commitment to each other and commitment to helping others pays off.

Niruja and Sagar left their home in Nepal to study in Australia, Niruja earning a Certificate IV’s in Aged and Individual Support and studying a Bachelor of Information Technology. Sagar completed a Master of Information System, Diploma of Human Resource Management, and Certificate IV in Aged and Individual Support.

They joined Southcare in 2022, both taking on the same roles as Community Support Workers and since then both have been promoted; Niruja to Administration Assistant with a community home care focus and Sagar as Administration Officer with an IT focus.

“As home care workers we worked directly with customers, we were in their homes every day helping them stay independent, driving them to appointments, taking them shopping and helping with personal care and everyday domestic duties,” Sagar said.

“Even though we are now office-based, we still work with customers, and while it might not always be face-to-face contact, it is nice to know that what we are doing still helps them live their best lives,” Niruja said.

They both worked as carers in Canberra and Sydney before driving across the Nullarbor to settle in WA, applying to work at Southcare along the way.

“We both love helping people, it’s in our blood as we helped our grandparents and extended family back home in Nepal,” Niruja said.

“When you see a customer smile after something you have done, it warms your heart and we are thankful to have jobs that allow us to experience that,” Niruja said.

“Working at previous companies on the east coast, we never had an opportunity to upskill or learn new things and we thought that might be the same here, but it has been the total opposite!” Niruja said.

“There are so many opportunities at Southcare and taking them without hesitation when they presented is what we both did, so you could say that together we are the prime examples of being rewarded,” Sagar said.

Southcare CEO Enda Fahy says all carers are superheroes and should be thanked and rewarded for the work they do.

“Every day, aged care employees perform their roles with immense dedication and compassion, often going above and beyond to ensure the well-being of our older community members,” Enda said.

Aged Care Employee Day is on 7 August and acknowledges the more than 370,000 people who care for and support around 1.5 million older Australians who receive aged care services.

“Please take a moment to acknowledge them and give them the recognition they deserve,” Enda said.

Discover more on our aged care superheroes Jose and Laure and if you would like to be an aged care superhero, reach out here.