ISS fundraiser Avtar Samrai and EMBRACE Staff Network visit local Derby Gurdwara
One of UHDB’s most prominent fundraisers, and recent recipient of the Making a Difference Award for 2022’s Fundraiser of the Year, recently coordinated a visit to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara – a Sikh temple and place of worship in Derby.
Avtar Samrai, Corporate Responsibilities Lead in ISS organised the visit alongside the EMBRACE Staff Network, and attended with senior UHDB colleagues Sharon Martin and Kathy McLean, as well as a number of other delegates within ISS, EMBRACE and UHDB as a whole.
We are committed to being an organisation that does all it can to engage with the diverse communities that we serve in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Visits like this one are vitally important to ensure understanding and awareness of the many faiths, cultures and beliefs of those who access our services - and the UHDB colleagues who provide them.
Avtar said he was “delighted and honoured” to be part of this work.
“I have been working alongside EMBRACE, representing my ISS colleagues, since June 2022. They recently invited me to plan and coordinate a visit to Derby’s Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and explore visits to various places of worship in Derby and Burton.
“I spoke with Network colleagues as well as members of the Trust Board, and was so pleased that they agreed to come with us and engage with our diverse neighbourhoods – and on this occasion, our Sikh community specifically.”
EMBRACE Staff Network Lead, Mwansa Mulenga - another recipient of a Making a Difference Award for 2022 (the Openness and Inclusion Award) - said she was “touched” by the “humility” of the Sikh faith.
“This was a truly wonderful experience – which can only be beneficial for all of our staff to understand caring for a Sikh patient in our hospital sites, or working alongside Sikh colleagues.”
Sharon Martin, Chief Operating Officer, said: “Understanding different religions and cultures is a critical part of my role at UHDB.
“I learnt an awful lot on the visit - not least that there are 25,000 Sikh people in Derby alone, many of whom will touch our services in some way.
“It is important for us to ensure our services protect and value the beliefs that different religions may hold, and do that in a respectful, proactive way – and I am keen that we continue to do more work to continually improve in this area.”