A woman who pioneered a school in Fiji and was the first Indian female to represent her country in golf has been nominated for Citizen of the Year.
Ivy Jaganath, now a resident at Courtlands Aged Care in North Parramatta, taught primary school children for 40 years, and then after retiring continued teaching as a volunteer at schools around Sydney’s west for two decades.
She grew up in Toorak, Suva, Fiji Islands and attended Dudley High School one of the well-known Methodist Schools in Fiji, and then went on to Nasinu Teachers Training College to become a primary school teacher.
After teaching at few primary schools Ivy had a call from Gospel Church Committee asking her to teach at Gospel Primary School. She was one of the pioneer teachers at Gospel Primary School in Suva back in the 1960s.
She was also the first Indian woman to play golf in Fiji and won the game in New Zealand representing Fiji her country. She went to the India Golf tournament where she met all the wealthy golf players.
Ivy firstly migrated to New Zealand with her husband to be with their two sons and continued her teaching studies at the Auckland College of Education. Nine years later, she migrated to Australia. After her husband and son’s death she went through a very difficult time, but she fought on doing voluntary work for five years at Westmead Hospital where her husband died. She also volunteered to be part of the 2000 Olympic Games doing ticketing.
Ivy spent a lot of her time volunteering to teach English as a second language training program to migrants from China and India. She was awarded certificates for her dedication to the Community of Prospect, and the Certificate in Recognition of her contribution to our community.
This year she was nominated for Citizen of the Year by Cumberland Council and attended the awards ceremony in January.
Ivy has three handsome sons and six gorgeous grandchildren. Her favourite phrase is “Love isn’t love until you give it away”.
