I was born in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, a scenic town close to nature, mountains, and the river Ganga. Haridwar is also known as the “Gateway to the Gods”. My parents have lived there for about 45 years, and still continue to live there. I have three older sisters and a younger brother. Being the youngest girl, I learnt a lot from my sisters and mother, and also realized how we all were different individuals yet the same at heart. Although we were a family we all had different preferences whether it was our careers, clothing, style or even food. That helped me understand how every person is different and what a joy it is to celebrate their individuality. It made me compassionate, understanding and accepting as a human being.

As a child, I was encouraged to express myself and to dream. My parents always supported us girls and made sure we had the best of the education. They appreciated us getting knowledge more than grades. Being a parent now, I understand how important parental support is for the kids. After graduating from college I did my masters degree in Human Resources Management as I was passionate about it. Soon after that I found my wonderful life partner and we got married. I also started working as an office administrator and I enjoyed that role very much. Later we were blessed with our sweet baby girl. For better opportunities we moved to a bigger city and I decided to freelance as a tutor and also follow my passion for painting. Over the next 6 years I enjoyed tutoring children, raising my girl and learning to paint and do crafts.

As our family grew we decided that it was a good time to head overseas to widen our career horizon and settle down. We decided to move to Canada as it was a very welcoming country with diverse and rich demographics. After a few years of hard work and patience we finally got our invitation to come to Canada as permanent residents in 2018. It was a turning point in my life as it was not easy to leave behind my home, family and friends and move to a country I had never visited before.

We arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia and we felt welcomed and accepted by everyone around. Although, initially it was a little bit difficult to adjust, we knew that we would eventually get used to everything. After a few weeks I accepted a job offer and started working.  It was my first Canadian job and I was very excited. I learnt a lot, gained some valuable experience and made some good friends. A year later I gave birth to our baby boy and I felt our family was complete. 

After getting familiar with Canada we decided to move to Ottawa and spend our future there. I was looking forward to working with a humanitarian organization and applied at IWSO. I got the job and have been working here since July. I feel great to be working with IWSO because, as an immigrant, I relate very well with the women we help to settle in our community. Being surrounded by strong women all my life, starting from my home and then later recognizing and appreciating them in college and work life, I feel accomplished to be working with many strong women from diverse backgrounds.  I feel I understand them and they understand me.