AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS

A Fauji Fervour To Community Work

Adelaide’s VIKRAM MADAN, OAM

For service to multicultural affairs

Major General Vikram Madan (Retd) has won major awards in his distinguished military career in India, including the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) not once but twice.

However, he says being awarded the OAM in his adopted country feels like an even greater achievement, as it is for his voluntary work in the community.

Vikram Madan had been coming to Australia occasionally to visit his sisters who are settled here. On one such visit in 2006, he met Veena. Within a few months, he had decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and they got married the following year.

Settling down in Adelaide, Vikram closely observed the Indian community around him. It was a time when the Indian community was growing very quickly and there were challenges arising from this. Coming from a service background in a leadership capacity, and having a passion for community work, Vikram Madan jumped in to become Vice President of the Indian Australian Association of SA (IAASA) in 2008.

He went on to become President. During this time there was a lot of conflict in the wider community due to the sudden, huge influx of migrants and students from India. Unfortunately, there were some violent incidents towards international students and taxi drivers.

In his role as IAASA President, Vikram did some outstanding work to help and support the victims and their families and advocate for quick resolution of the issues.

Seeing his commitment and leadership, the Government appointed him to the Board of SAMEAC (South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission).

As a SAMEAC member for the last eight years, Vikram has advocated on behalf of all ethnic communities and says he has learnt about the “needs and aspirations of all our multicultural communities, and assisted them as well as Indian organisations to find pathways to settlement.”

Vikram is involved in many other organisations and committees including Multicultural Aged Care where he is the Chairman, Passenger Transport Standards Committee, OzAsia to name only a few. But one of his major achievements, he says are the fundraiser he organised for the Nepal Earthquake where they raised $43,000.

Another achievement he speaks of with much pride, is his success in securing for

Caring For Our Seniors

Indian defence veterans the right to march in the ANZAC Day Parade in South Australia.

In India, Madan gave 41 years of his life to the Indian Army. In his career he saw action in the Bangladesh war, in Sri Lanka, and during the insurgency operations in India’s north-east. He served eleven years in high altitude postings including Kargil at the India-Pakistan border, and commanded a Division in Punjab/J&K, fighting militancy.

“Community work in a foreign land is full of challenges,” Madan told Indian Link “I could not have done this without the support and encouragement of Veena and my family.”

Vinaya Rai

Adelaide’s VIVEK PADMANABHAN, OAM For service to aged welfare

Say the word ‘Padman’ in South Australia, and the thought that comes to mind is Aged Care. And Viv Padman, who started the business, is highly regarded not only for establishing some of the best aged care facilities in the country but also for his involvement in the Aged Care industry at state and national levels.

Viv has been associated with the Australian Aged Care Association continuously since 1983, being a Board Member for many years and then Chairman.

He has also been on several Ministerappointed committees involved in the development of policies and guidelines.

Viv Padmanabhan established Padman Health Care in 1984 with a small facility in Henley Beach. “It was an opportunity to own our own business,” he told Indian Link, “as I felt there were plenty of opportunities for growth.”

And grow they did, not only in size but in quality of care and concern for the welfare of the elderly. Vivek says they wanted to improve standards and “provide the care that we would want for our parents.”

Vivek’s parents moved to East Africa from Kerala as teachers. Following political upheaval in Uganda, the family moved to Adelaide in

1973 when Vivek was 15 years old.

The family got involved in the small Indian community and Vivek’s father became President of the Indian Australian Association of SA (IAASA). It was a great introduction to young Vivek in community work, himself working with association as a young adult. He also supported the Adelaide Malayalee Association (AMMA) too especially in its early years.

He was a regular broadcaster on Indian Community Radio on 103.1FM too.

In the wider community, Vivek was a member on several boards and committees. “All these were in a voluntary capacity,” he says, “which helped me contribute to the needs of the Aged Care Industry to a much greater extent.”

Even though he sounds proud when he speaks of some of the “exciting” facilities he has built, his humility shines when asked what he considers his greatest accomplishment.

“I think to have made a difference to the quality of life of our residents in the last years of their lives, that is what is most important to me.”

“There is a lot of emotion involved when a person has to leave their home. They are quite fragile. We try to make the transition as seamless as possible with exceptional care and comfort.”

Viv Padmanabhan credits his success to his wife Florence’s role in the business. She is Executive Director of Nursing. “Florence was a big part of the business,” he says, “and all credit goes to her for making it so successful.”

Vivek has started a luxury aged care service called Premier Health Care in which his daughters, Reena, a lawyer and Sunita, an oncologist, are also involved.

Vivek’s passion for his work comes through loud and clear when he talks about it.

This latest honour “is very humbling”, he says, “because it is recognition for doing something constructive for the community. This was also my late father’s passion, which he carried out in India, Uganda & Australia.”

Vinaya Rai