South Asian Heritage Month aims to commemorate and celebrate the history and culture of the eight countries of South Asia – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka – and to understand the diverse links to the UK.
Here, colleagues from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust explain what the month means to them…
Mansi Jain
Leadership and Organisational Development Senior Administrator
I am proud of Indian culture which goes back so many centuries. I am proud of what India has achieved in last 75 years after independence and making its huge mark on global map. What I really love about India is the food, colours, festivals, music and so much more
As a NHS employee, I feel happy to be part of such a diverse network of people from different ethnicities and would love to know and celebrate fellow South Asian people. This month I am able to celebrate what I love most about my culture, just like I do every day.
Dushanthi Cole
Clinical Education Lead – Nursing Associates
I love my origins, I was born I Sri Lanka in a town called Kandy, I lived there till I was ten. The proudest thing about my heritage is the food. Wow, there are some of the most amazing flavours – and the curries are out of this world. The natural beauty of the country is amazing. Tourism hasn’t necessarily tarnished the simple beauty of the landscapes.
Dimple Meera Jom
Communications Assistant
Let me spill some honesty! Being someone who was born and brought up in India, I never gave much attention to my heritage. But, now that I’m in a new country, where there are a lot of people with varied cultures, values, and languages, I started missing who I really was, I started missing my Thatukada food, I started missing dressing up in Kerala Saree, and I started missing being a Malayalee! It is funny, because, those things that I miss, are the ones that make me a proud South Asian.
I’m fairly new to the UK, and I have been struggling with an identity crisis, and as well as financially. I didn’t know where to seek help from. But now that I’m working in the Staff Support Hub, an initiative set up by the NHS to support colleagues’ wellbeing, I know there is support available out there.
For me, celebrating South Asian Heritage Month is all about connecting with people who have been through the journey that I’ve gone through and who are still struggling for a support. I just want to let my fellow South Asian colleagues to know there are provisions of support available for staff like the Staff Support Hub to help you with your wellbeing including counselling and financial wellbeing.
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