Raazia Mohammed lives and breathes community work.
Her life is one of service to the elderly and the underprivileged in society.
She not only looks after the needs of senior citizens at Samabula Golden Age Home as a caregiver, but also addresses the needs of the underprivileged through the non governmental organisation – Being Helping Hands (Fiji) – she founded one year ago.
“I work as a caregiver at the Samabula Golden Age Home and I have been there for the past three years,” she said.
Ms Mohammed said care giving could be mentally and physically draining at times, however, it was a fulfilling profession.
“With the many struggles involved with caring for the elderly, it fills me with satisfaction to know that my work is making a positive difference in their lives.”
Ms Mohammed said when she established the NGO, she faced many difficulties, but persistence and the belief it was a noble cause kept her going.
“The journey wasn’t easy and during the first few months, I did everything on my own. Being a mother of two young boys and working as a night caregiver didn’t deter me in reaching out to the needy and sacrificing my much needed sleep in the process.”
She said social media played a huge role in obtaining support for her NGO.
“I got a lot of attention on Facebook from people wanting to assist me in my work as I kept posting about the things we were up to.”
Ms Mohammed said her team identified critical issues and the NGO worked towards addressing them.
“Educational needs for children, lack of affordable housing and also those families who can’t afford a decent meal are of some of the issues we actively work towards addressing.”
She said her team of 23 volunteers and the smiles of the people and children whose situations were improved through the efforts of the NGO, were some of the things that she treasured most in life.
“My volunteers are my strength and I feel very proud of their passion and of the lives we have helped improve over the past year.”
