Shanjida Chowdhury: Home Care from the Heart
By Ruby Thomas
Shanjida Chowdhury came to Australia to study Information Technology, but it wasn’t long before she discovered her love and talent for working with some of our society’s most vulnerable people.
Despite lacking experience in the industry, Shanjida entered the aged care workforce through Settlement Services International (SSI), which she first learned about at a career fair.
SSI is tasked with delivering the government-funded Home Care Workforce Support Program across NSW and the ACT, which aims to target 110,000 new support workers in the next 10 years. Such programs help older people keep their independence and live in their own homes.
Shanjida’s aptitude for aged care was clear from the start.
“On the first day of my job, any resident or any home, they ask me often to come again. [They ask me to] please tell your office to come here regularly, so it’s obviously my achievement that they love me from the first day,” Shanjida said.
“You need the love and patience to take care of elderly people. If you do not have patience and that love deep down, you can’t do this job.”
For Shanjida, aged care has been an immensely rewarding profession. In contrast to what some may expect from work in this industry, Shanjida said the work is not always unpleasant or monotonous.
“It’s not the whole job that every house we are going to clean the toilet and we are changing the diapers.
“We go shopping, we gossip, we go for coffee. Sometimes I play games with them, sometimes I cook, sometimes I clean the house, so it’s really flexible and really fun. There’s no boredom in this job.”
Shanjida said working in aged care is not necessarily about specialised skills, but rather, relationships with clients.
“No specific skill is required. You just need very basic things, whatever you have done in your home…and obviously, you need the love. You need the love and patience to take care of elderly people. If you do not have patience and that love deep down, you can’t do this job,” Shanjida said.
A growing aged care workforce will be critical for the future of Australia. In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety issued their final report, including insights on the critical demand for workers in the industry.
The Commission found the number of people aged 85 years or older will increase from 515,700 in 2018-19 (2% of the population), to over 1.5 million people by 2058 (3.7% of the population).
People like Shanjida are therefore essential to ensure elderly members of our society have the care and respect they deserve in the later stages of life.
As Shanjida continues to work in the industry, her generosity is a timely reminder that aged care should not be a burden – instead, it’s about nurturing our common humanity.