Anju Dewangan has been named Baulkham Hills Family Day Care* Educator of the Year. Anju was presented with the Susan Sheiles Educator of the Year Award for Excellence last week.
CatholicCare’s Senior Manager Child Education Services Jessie Counted said the award represents all round excellence in family day care service delivery and innovation.
“Anju has been with us for only a year and is very active in the community. She is always willing to give anything a go,” Jessie said.
“Anju is a passionate and dedicated educator and puts 100% in all that she does.”
Anju said she was very honoured to receive the award.
“I was not expecting this award and it is a blessing and an honour,” the mother-of-two said.
A former chemistry professor, Anju decided it was time for a career change after arriving in Australia from her native India.
“After coming to Australia I decided to explore new things and started working with the Catholic community doing playgroup sessions – I am so connected with the community,” she said. “I really enjoyed it and soon became an educator working in a number of centres, starting my own family day care in 2018.”
Along with running her own family day care, Anju supports other educators by running training and education, including supporting other people to start their own family day care business.
She said a big part of her work this year during COVID-19 had been supporting the health and wellbeing of the educator community.
“I feel so blessed to be part of this community,” she said. “It’s not just about my family day care business, it’s about the community.”
A published poet and Bollywood dancer, Anju said she takes a wholistic approach to life, her children and the community she is part of.
Congratulations Anju!
* Baulkham Hills Family Day Care is a program of CatholicCare Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
This story appeared in the Summer Newsletter of CatholicCare Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains. To read more stories from the newsletter, click here.
