More prestigious awards for Guyanese Canadian Generalist

-Receives kudos for role in addressing stigma surrounding mental health

ALREADY with over 200 awards to his credit, Guyanese-born Canadian Narine Dat Sookram’s bulging collection was further boosted by four prestigious accolades within the past few months.

In glowing introductory remarks, upon receiving the Innovator award from PeerWorks for championing mental health and trying to close the gap, Operations

Director Allyson Theodorou pointed out that “the judges have decided to think outside the box for the first time in the award’s inception in 14 years. Narine Dat Sookram is awarded for his dedication to marginalised people’s mental health and well-being. He is addressing the stigma surrounding mental health. His passion for mental health led him to help hundreds of job seekers, many of whom had mental health issues and were unhoused. Narine’s dedication to mental health and well-being has impacted thousands, making him more than deserving of the Lighthouse Award.”

On June 8, Sookram was recognised twice by two different organisations in two Canadian Provinces. The first was the Phillip Emmerson Award for Employment Excellence from the Canadian Association for Supported Employment.

The Phillip Emmerson Award is a national honour bestowed yearly on one individual in Canada, with a population of almost 40 million people. This award is presented to an outstanding person who has made significant contributions to the promotion of full citizenship and personal capacity through employment and innovation in the workplace within Canada.

The awards ceremony was held at the Second World Supported Employment Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended by over 600 guests from around the world. Later that evening, Sookram was also recognised with the Community Spirit Award from the City of Oakville, Ontario, for “his unmatched community-building and advocacy work.”

On June 15, Sookram was also presented with the prestigious Wellness Award by Summit Housing and Outreach Programmes for giving a second chance to those with challenging lives.

According to the quiet and assuming Sookram, he’s also scheduled to receive at least three more awards within the next few weeks, two of which are from the Government of Ontario, his home province in Canada, while he’s also set to be inducted into the Phi Alpha Society because of his academic excellence in the Doctor of Social Worker programme at Capella University.

Sookram grew up in Number 64 Village, Berbice, Guyana, and was an assistant Hindu priest to Pandit Dave Chetram, for the No. 64 Krishna Mandir. He founded a youth group at 14 to unite the youths in his community.

After migrating to Canada, Sookram continuously developed himself personally and professionally and has always prioritised giving back. Named one of Royal Bank of Canada’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrants (2013), Sookram is an Advanced Generalist Social & Psychotherapist.

The Community trailblazer has initiated the award-winning Caribbean Dreams Concert and the award-winning community radio Caribbean Spice and, most recently, the popular talk show, Let’s Chit Chat with Narine Dat.

The author of the book, ‘The Teenage Years’, Sookram, is the first gen-

Engagement (Public Peace Prize), Top Chutney Radio Award (Caribbean Music & Entertainment), Person of Distinction Award (The eration to have graduated from college/university and has done an impressive job by graduating with over a dozen programmes. Some of these include a Bachelor of Social Work (University of Manitoba), Master of Social Work (Brescia University), Graduate Certificate in Career Development (Conestoga College), Associate Degree in the Social Service Worker Programmes (Mohawk College), Bachelor of Professional Arts in Human Services (Athabasca University), Bachelor of Education in Adult Education (Brock University). He is currently completing his Doctor of Social Work degree at -Capella University and is expected to graduate in 2024.

Sookrams’s previous awards include the Distinguished Social Worker Award (Ontario Association of Social), Spirit of Angela Award (Brescia University’s highest honour), Public Peace Prize for Social Integration and Community

Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region), Canadian Who’s Who Inclusion, Rev. John C. Holland Community Services Award (The Hamilton Black History Committee), People of Distinction Humanitarian Award (People of Distinction, USA), I Choose Dignity Inclusion Award (Extend-A-Family of Waterloo Region), Man of Honour Spirit of Community Award (Women’s Ministry of Washington DC, USA), an honorary degree (King’s University, USA) among others.

Among the many unique community initiatives, Sookram is an advanced generalist, social worker, researcher, and psychotherapist; He’s the only Guyanese born to have his name engraved at Mohawk College for academic excellence and at the City of Waterloo Chamber for Civic Service.

Narine is the last child of seven children and the first to have completed post-secondary and postgrad education.