Bijinder Dugal
Bijinder Dugal is a familiar face at community events across ever-expanding Sydney. Being the co-founding director of Aasha Australia Foundation, she has championed support for the health and well-being of older members of the Indian community since 2017. Her work has been acknowledged as part of the King’s Birthday Honours this year with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division for service to aged welfare.
Expressing her gratitude for the recognition, Dugal says the accolades belong equally to the volunteers of Aasha Foundation which conducts regular programs for elderly members of the Indian diaspora, combining cultural programs, music, dance and entertainment with food, information and awareness sessions, health checks and vaccination drives too.
Australia has been home for Dugal since 1975. She’s worked with the NSW Department of Education for more than four decades, working her way up from a teacher, all the way to Assistant Principal in schools including Auburn Girls High School, Clarke Road School, Redfern Public School, Ryde Public School and Spastic Centre among others. She continues to be a teacher with IABBV Hindi School, besides serving as Executive Member of Ryde Indian Association and is the former vice president of the Australian Hindi Indian Association (AHIA).
Bijinder Dugal has been a strong advocate for health of the elderly for several years, especially helping raise awareness about dementia, and credits her work there in laying the roots for Aasha Foundation.
“’Aasha’ means hope in Sanskrit, and that is exactly what we try to provide for the elderly members of our community. So many of them suffer loneliness, isolation, sickness, familial challenges and abuse etc but have nobody to share their problems with, nor any outlet for respite,” she explains. “To bridge that gap, we regularly conduct programs across different corners of Sydney to provide this cohort of people a safe space for a few hours of fun and enjoyment.”
Sessions are well attended, Dugal reveals. “We are present in Blacktown, Gordon, Crows Nest, Strathfield, West Ryde etc, to name a few. In the few hours of the program, the attendees get to mingle with others, enjoy good food, learn new skills, enjoy dancing and music, fitness and health sessions etc. All these are wonderful activities for their mental well-being too. We also try to bring expert speakers to talk about subjects like digital literacy, how to identify and tackle abuse, do their health checks etc,” she says.
The sessions have evolved over the years, she says. “Covid was a particularly challenging time, but we managed to conduct programs online and that helped us to connect with elderly in other parts of the world too, and they continue to stay in touch. I have learnt so many new skills too along the way, including how to conduct live programs on social media!”
It’s no wonder that Aasha Foundation and Bijinder Dugal have been recognised at various forums through the years, including Individual Community Hero by City of Ryde Volunteer Recognition Awards 2025, Volunteer of the Year (Blacktown City Multicultural Awards 2023), Upper North Shore Volunteer Team of the Year, NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards 2022, to name a few.
The awards and accolades notwithstanding, Bijinder Dugal says the biggest reward for her continues to be the smiles on faces of the elderly. “This recognition is not the end of a journey. Rather, it is a reminder that there is still much work to do. Too many people are still isolated, their voices unheard. There are countless others who just need someone to stand beside them to assure them that they are not alone. At Aasha, we feel honoured to be able to watch strangers become friends, see the hope return to someone’s eyes, and witness communities come together in support of one another,” she says.
Read more: Dr Atul Kumar Garg, OAM: King’s Birthday Honours 2026
