RICHMOND: BC Cultural Diversity Association (BCCDA), with the mandate in building harmony between cultures, celebrated and recognized the contributions of seniors to the society at its Annual Seniors Day event on Saturday, October 1, 2022, at the Marine Bay Restaurant in Richmond.
BCCDA has organized Seniors Recognition events in October 2018, 2019, and 2021. In 2020, due to Covid-19, no event was held. 2020 was also the year when Anti-Asian Racism has reportedly increased significantly in the major cities of British Columbia. The 2022 Seniors Recognition celebration featured recognition of 10 Senior Honorees (80+ years) from diverse cultural backgrounds who have made great difference in their communities. They are Mr. Arthur Shuren Cheng, Sergeant Sukhdev Singh Gadri, Dr. Robert Krell, Ms. Sophia M. Leung, C.M., Dr. Eddie Lo, Mr. Ralph Long, Mr. Peter Praegel, Dr. Doo Ho Shin, Dr. Jan Walls, Me. Wu Shiyin
Sergeant Sukhdev Singh Gadri was born in 1941. He retired from the Indian Air Forces, has over 35 years of service, and also worked for the State Bank of India. He immigrated in 2002, and since then he has volunteered at the Indian Ex-Servicemen Society of BC. He deals with pension benefits for Indian Defense Veterans and raises donations. He is Vice-President & Treasurer. Many persons face problems, Sergeant Gadri uses his service experience in Air Force & Banking to help Veterans with all their issues. He has a team of highly qualified skilled veterans, who visit schools to educate young students about history and responsibility and build goodwill, including organizing functions on the epic battle of “SARAGRHI” fought by the British Indian Army on September 12 each year. He encourages the young generation to join Canadian Armed Forces and on November 11th of every year, they participate in Remembrance Day Celebrations.
Several cultural performances representing different facets of the society were part of the event that also included food and meet-and-greet for about 200 guests and VIP’s. October 1 was proclaimed as International Day of Older Persons by the United Nations in 1990. The Canadian parliament passed the Celebrating Canada’s Seniors Act in 2010 designating October 1 each year as National Seniors Day. Federal ministerial portfolio for seniors was created in 2018 and Minister of Seniors was appointed. BCCDA would like to thank all the Senior Honorees, Sponsors, Volunteers, Performers, Media and every one who attended our 2022 Annual Seniors Day event and everyone person who helped to make this event very successful.
BC Cultural Diversity Association (BCCDA) BCCDA is a non-profit organization incorporated in 2018 under the Societies Act in British Columbia for the purpose of promoting harmony in/between cultures.
