Volunteer Voices - "It’s just part of who I am." - Sandy Kaur

Sandy Kaur is a giver and from the moment she landed in New Zealand a year ago she was keen to find a way to give back in this country.

Through Volunteer South she was introduced to an opportunity to volunteer as an Activity Buddy with the non-profit Central Otago Friendship Network in Cromwell. It’s been the perfect way for her to connect with her community and help someone.

The Friendship Network provides services that enrich people’s lives through the building of friendships. Part of this network, The Friendship 1:1 Service helps people who may be socially isolated find a like-minded volunteer who can regularly spend social time with them. Volunteers are vetted, given training and ongoing support and are matched carefully with their Buddy.

Sandy has been living in Cromwell for 10 months and visits with her Friendship Buddy for about an hour once a week. “I don’t do much” she laughs self-deprecatingly, “A lot of my time is spent listening. We chat about life, about Cromwell, the past, her family. We both share a love of the mountains. It feels like a very precious time when I’m with her.”

Sandy grew up in Punjab, India. She says it’s a place with a very strong social conscience. “People there are very connected. Families stay together and friends and neighbours are all included.”

As a result, she says people are healthy on a mental level. “My 98 year old Grandmother has no mental health issues. I hadn’t even heard of dementia before I came here. It isn’t a thing in the Punjab society. Perhaps it helps that our elderly are so connected with their community.”

A spiritual person from a young age, Sandy read a lot of books about how to live a good life. She attended Temple in India regularly and says that while her spirituality does mean there are some restrictions on what she can do, it gives her life a genuine richness.

She came to New Zealand a year ago, encouraged by her brother and sister who had become citizens while living in Invercargill. Her sister now lives in Mosgiel and Sandy visits often and loves her time with her nieces and nephews.

Presently working at a local supermarket, she is always on the lookout for a way to help her colleagues. “It’s just part of who I am. If I see a person struggling, I automatically want to reach out to them.”

Sandy doesn’t really view her role with her Buddy as volunteering, more as an innate thing she wants to do. “Honestly, I didn’t really know about volunteering as such until I came here. It’s a kind of internal thing for me to want to help people.”

Written by Juliette Hicks