Citizen of the Year

BY VINAYA RAI

When I congratulated Rajendra Pandey for being awarded the Citizen of the Year Award for Unley City, I asked him what the criteria were for this award. In essence, why had he been given this award? Quite humbly, he replied, “I think the only criterion was that you have to be a citizen.”

How simple! But what he did not add was that you had to be a good citizen, an outstanding citizen. These awards recognise people that are making outstanding contributions to the community.

The Citizen of the Year Award is presented by the Australia Day Council of South Australia and Media Partner Channel 9, and are administered by local Councils across South Australia. On Australia Day every year, every local council names their respective Citizen of the Year.

Pandey was named Citizen of the Year for his local community, Unley. So what outstanding work does he do for the community? He is the City East Area Manager for St John Ambulance (a volunteer role), Multicultural Communities Council of SA (MCCSA) Board member, President of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (SA Chapter), an Australian Army Reservist and an Ambassador for Volunteering. And all this within six years of arrival in Australia!

“Don’t wait till you are fully settled before you start contributing to society,” he says. “The skills you gain from volunteering will help you in your employment and the satisfaction you gain from volunteering will help you settle better in the new country.”

And he speaks from experience. Soon after he arrived in Adelaide, Pandey did his First Aid Training and decided to volunteer with St John’s. He was a volunteer First Aid Officer posted at public events and in emergencies. As well as being a First Aid Officer on ground, he also moved up to manage a small division of volunteers. Now, five years later, he is an area manager responsible for 200 volunteers across several divisions, still in a voluntary capacity.

As President of SA Chapter of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Pandey organised a highly successful national conference last year in which Hindus from various countries living in Australia participated. Under his leadership, VHP is also actively involved in community work like regular