Join us as we meet some of our amazing aged care team members.
Working as the Lifestyle Coordinator at BaptistCare Griffith Aged Care Home in Canberra certainly keeps Sofia Tofuaipangai on her toes and always looking for ways to make residents smile.
The first of her kind
Not many people can say they helped launch a country’s first ANZ bank, but Sofia Tofuaipangai can.
“I had worked in banking for the Tonga Development Bank before I saw the job advertised for the ANZ bank and I thought, let’s give it a go,” she said.
“I was one of the 13 Tongan staff to start the very first ANZ bank branch in Tonga. I worked there for three years before I had an unexpected change.”
It wasn’t just a career change that came next for Sofia, but a location changes as well.
Swapping Tonga for the United States of America.
“I ended up as a nanny for an American family,” she said.
“Every day I’d spend with the children walking them to school and looking after them, I got to know the whole neighbourhood. So, when the boys were older, I ended up looking after an elderly neighbour.”
This was Sofia’s first taste of caring for people as they age.
She became the personal, live in carer for a year before someone came to sweep her off her feet and change the direction of her life again.
A love story with Hollywood romcom vibes
When Sofia left Tonga to move to America, she not only left behind her family and friends but loss connection with her high school sweetheart.
He and his family had migrated to Australia when Sofia was working in the bank, and they lost touch completely when she moved across the world.
What she didn’t know, until years later, was he hadn’t forgotten her and had come to America not once, not twice but three times trying to find her!
“He finally found me in San Francisco 12 years after we lost touch,” she laughed.
“And so, we got married in the Monterey Hotel in 2002 and started planning my move to be with him in Australia.”
Finding her feet in a new career and country
It’s never easy moving and starting over, and initially Sofia dabbled in a few different jobs when she arrived in Australia.
“I arrived in 2004 and spent some time doing marketing for couple of months, she said.
“But then I saw an ad in the paper for an activity officer in an aged care home and I remember feeling excited and being able to see myself doing that job.”
“I could dance and sing, run exercise, talk to people, plan activities and really be myself,” Sofia explained.
“But I also could bring the care that runs through Tongan culture. In Tonga, older people are very well looked after and respected. We take care of them in our own home. I’ve always had passion for aged people and wanted to pursue that as a career.
Bringing the fun
Sofia has been worked in aged care for 20 years, the last five being a BaptistCare Griffith where she has brought a whole heap of fun to the residents, which wasn’t always easy during the COVID lockdowns.
“I love my job so much. To be able to put a smile on the faces of my residents is the most important thing to me, and you get to be so creative with what you do,” she said.
When Sofia discovered that a resident was a gifted musician during the COVID lockdowns, when performers were no longer able to come into the home, she started a staff and resident band!
“I didn’t know how to play any musical instrument when the idea of starting a band came to mind, but one of the residents, Bob, encouraged me to buy a Ukulele, saying he’d teach me, and he did,” she explained.
“Bob would play his harmonica, I played the ukulele, and our chaplain would play the guitar. We were a great band and it was lovely to be able to bring music to Griffith in the really hard COVID times.”
“Unfortunately, Bob is no longer with us, but I still get the ukulele out sometimes in our Dementia unit to play a few songs while the residents sing along, relax and have their morning or afternoon tea and enjoy the music,” Sofia said.
A smile a day makes work feel like play
Every day can be a little bit different for Sofia, keeping her on her toes and ready for anything.
On a day to day basis you can find her driving the bus to take residents on outings, setting up for special events, ensuring the craft group has enough wool (and in the correct colour), spending time with residents and their families, supporting other staff with training or planning, and so much more.
But at the heart of it all, the thing she loves most about her job is simple. To make residents smile.
“If I walk away at the end of the day and I have put a smile on residents' faces, then I’m a happy person. It’s the privilege of this job,” she said.
“I also think one of the forgotten things to aging and living well is to be happy and do what your hearts content, and that’s what I want to be able to create each day for our residents.”
“When someone walks through the door for the first time here that this is the beginning of something great for them, the next lovely part of their life,” explained Sofia.
“And that’s why it’s so important we create happy, uplifting and exciting things for our residents to do. We have a great and supportive team here and amazing residents who embrace fun and this is why I love coming to work each day.”
