In honour of Asian Heritage Month, Regional Archives Committee member Renée Sarojini Saklikar sends us this excerpt about her father, the late Rev. Dr. Vasant Saklikar:
“In 1977, Vasant accepted a post at New Westminster’s Sixth Avenue United church and he and Banu immersed themselves in community life.
“Vasant continued to be a life-long learner – he studied Pastoral Care in Seattle and earned his doctorate and practiced marriage and family counseling. He established New Westminster’s first Marriage Preparation course. In the 1980s, Vasant was elected as a School Trustee, and won re-election for many years. Always active in social justice, he helped found a food bank at his church, served on one of the first regional health boards, and continued to visit the sick and comfort the elderly. In the year he died, he helped organize a memorial to commemorate the victims of the September 11th tragedy. He loved New Westminster and believed passionately in participating fully in all the opportunities, struggles, and dreams of ‘being Canadian’.”