A Geelong-based in-home care provider has been recognised for his commitment to serving seniors in need over the past year.
Suryadi Iskandar’s passion and commitment has been acknowledged recently as he was named a finalist for Home Instead Australia’s CAREGiver of the Year award.
Suryadi has worked as a care provider for Home Instead Geelong for the past year and a half, providing in-home care services to older members of the community, to support them as they continue living in their own homes.
Suryadi said he enjoyed supporting members of the community to keep their independence.
“I receive a lot of satisfaction from assisting those who need help,” he said.
“My clients value my caring, loyal and honest nature, I like to go above and beyond what people expect.
“I don’t have parents or children and I feel that now, coming onboard with Home Instead, I want to be there for my clients like family.
“I feel like I now have one of my own to care for.”
Prior to the pandemic, Suryadi worked in sales in marketing, but made the jump to a new industry with no experience as a carer.
He said while it had been a big change, he had picked up a range of skills, most importantly the creatively to cater his service to each individual he supported.
“Getting to know people can be a challenge at first, trust is the key to helping clients,” he said.
“If they trust me, they can open up. Once you build a relationship with that person, they’re happy to share their experiences and their problems. It’s an open-door policy.
“I had a client who didn’t want to go in my car. In situations like this you have to be calm, collected and talk about something that makes the client feel comfortable.
“For this client, I spoke to him about fishing – that one day we’ll go together, with the office’s approval of course.
“Since then we’ve had various fishing trips and he requests my care frequently. I now have a permanent shift with him.
“I truly love what I do.”
