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Asian Voice | 2nd June 2018
AsianVoiceNews
to
with
Keith Vaz, MP
Priya Mendes was born and brought up in the beautiful state of Goa in India. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Applications from the Goa University and has worked in this field for a while. Priya has always had a passion for cooking and trying out new recipes and sharing her delicious meals with her family and friends. Since food is what gives her immense pleasure and satisfaction, she decided to pursue this passion into a career. She is the now the owner of the Goan Delights Restaurant in Leicester. It is the place to visit for an authentic taste of Goa. Priya enjoys music, travelling and meeting new people and learning their different traditions and cultures. She believes that food is the way to bring people together and considers Leicester to be the perfect place for this, as it is so multicultural with people from different parts of the world. And this is what gives her the enthusiasm and happiness to keep the traditional Goan food and culture alive in the United Kingdom. Priya lives in Leicester with her husband who supports her dream and her two handsome little boys. Her sisters have also been a great help and support to her in keeping up with the food quality and standards in her restaurant. It is with the support of her family, that she has accomplished and fulfilled her dream. 1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in? Leicester is home to me. It is the people and cultural diversity that binds us together. 2) What are your proud-
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est achievements? I take pride in every good thing that I do. But opening the Goan Delights Restaurant is my proudest achievement. And I am constantly giving it my best to make it reach new heights.
3) What inspires you? Hardworking and honest people are an inspiration to me. I like to take inspiration from them and use it as a tool to improve myself and focus on my business. And to be a better and stronger person. 4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career? I don’t believe in obstacles, I believe in working hard and overcoming the obstacles. I believe one should not give obstacles and negativity a chance to enter into your mind and work. Just focus on the good work and all that is good around. 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? My parents have always been my strength. They have stood by me through thick and thin. After God, it has been my parent’s blessings and both my sister’s motivation that has encouraged me to follow and fulfil my dream. 6) What is the best
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aspect about your current role? Keeping the essence of healthy living in people through Goan Delights, by encouraging people to have nutritious and heathy meals and enjoy life to the fullest in the healthiest possible way. Keeping the Goan spice, values and traditions alive in my food. It has not always been an easy task, but I am working very hard to ensure that Goan Delights, through its tasty and nutritious food, makes a place in every ones heart. 7) And the worst? None. I try to make the best out of the worst. 8) What are your long term goals? Achieving success in whatever I do. Taking Goan Delights globally and reaching out to more and more people and showing them the healthy art of living. There is no fun in life, if one is not happy in what they do, and cooking good food give me happiness. I want to encourage people of all
ages to live healthier lives and understand the importance of nutrition and the benefits of traditional spices in food. 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? I would bring improvement in the NHS, education and support small businesses. Small businesses need government’s attention and help to grow and achieve success.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why. Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea which opened a way for the Portuguese and others to establish a long lasting colonial empire in Asia. I would like to ask him how he discovered the sea route to my birthplace, Goa.
Priti Patel MP encourages Asian community to register as stem cell donors Priti Patel MP has called on members of the Asian community to register as stem cell donors at an event at Parliament to help the ‘Cure Kaiya’ and ‘Match for Rajie’ appeals. The event on Wednesday 23rd May saw fourteen MPs attend to learn more about the urgent need for people to sign up as potential stem cell donors, with a further 11 people signing up to the Anthony Nolan register. Kaiya, 5, and Rajie, 11, have both been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). A blood stem cell transplant could save their lives, but a matching donor may not be found as there are not enough Asian people on the stem cell register. The ‘Cure Kaiya’ and ‘Match for Rajie’ campaigns have already had a great response and thousands of individuals have registered to join the stem cell registry across the UK. However, a match has not yet been identified for either child. Priti said: “A stem cell transplant can be the only lifeline for leukaemia patients who have no other treatments to turn to. Tragically, children like 5-
Priti Patel MP with members of Kaiya and Rajie’s families
year-old Kaiya and 11year-old Rajie have only a 21% chance of finding a donor match because there are simply not enough donors from Asian backgrounds registered. “Childhood leukaemia affects children of every ethnic group but only 16 percent of donors on the stem cell register are from Asian or other minority ethnic backgrounds and we need to raise awareness of this and encourage more people from Asian backgrounds to register as donors. “I have raised this issue at Prime Minister’s Question Time and have hosted an event in Parliament today with Kaiya and Rajie’s families to raise awareness and encourage people to regis-
ter as donors. I was encouraged by the Prime Minister’s response. The Government has already invested £20m into stem cell donation since 2015 and I hope the Prime Minister’s support for this campaign will encourage more people to register and help save lives.” Anthony Nolan Trust has launched a new campaign, Be A Lifesaver, to raise awareness of stem cell donation and to encourage anyone aged 1630, and in good general health, to join the Anthony Nolan register. To find about more about joining the Anthony Nolan register, or to find out more about the different ways you can support, please visit anthonynolan.org/join