When Pushpa Ajay Bakshi lost both her parents at a young age, it threatened to derail the remainder of her life.
That was until she discovered Mother Teresa, whose resilience and unwavering sense of service to others has inspired her ever since.
“I lost my mum at a very early age so I had a lot of pent up emotions and it was Mother Teresa’s words that just said use all that emotion, anger, hurt, love, whatever and go and help and start making a difference in other people’s lives,” she said.
The list of ways Ms Bakshi has given back is long and varied, from helping the homeless to supporting the elderly and disabled, to mentoring hundreds of women and business owners.
Ms Bakshi is a life and business coach, Rotarian, senior vice-president of Ipswich Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with many community projects including a global women’s council, various business councils, service club Zonta and multi-cultural associations.
Her extensive efforts, which began in the UK 30 years ago and continued after she moved to Australia, will be honoured on 29 March when she takes part in the Queen’s Baton Relay in Ipswich in the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ms Bakshi will carry the Queen’s Baton on Chermside Road and is excited to have been selected.
“I feel proud being from England that I’m going to hold the Queen’s Baton,” she said.
“I think the Queen has done extremely well from being thrown into that role and despite so many restrictions, she has persevered and is still there. It’s an honour to be able to hold the Queen’s Baton and to be representing Ipswich.
“Ipswich is a great community. There’s a lot of prospects here and I’ve met many wonderful people here. It’s a growing city that has adapted well to change by embracing innovation.”
Ms Bakshi said being able to use her own life experiences to help others through challenging times continued to motivate her.
“When you’ve done the hard challenges and you pick yourself up and keep going and realise that just because something is throwing you down doesn’t mean you stay there, you have to pick yourself up because this day’s not coming back,” she said.
“There is no tomorrow, you do it today. Life’s too valuable to shun it, to take it lightly.
“Seeing someone live a better quality of life because you’ve shared your personal experience and helped them take the next step in their life is very rewarding.”
The Queen’s Baton Relay is not the only way Ms Bakshi will be involved with the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
She is also volunteering for press operations at the games and will help guide athletes through media interviews after they compete.
5