_Marlene was nominated by her co-worker at Woodingford Lodge, Tanya
Bultje. Tanya told us about a warm and caring individual she met on her
first day on the job, 8 years ago. Marlene consistently goes above and
beyond the call of duty and it shows in the gleam of happiness in the
eyes of the residents under her care. Marlene performs her role as PSW
with dedication, professionalism and most importantly, compassion and
love.
Marlene’s passion for her career and those she cares for extends beyond
Woodingford Lodge. Marlene is founding member of the group Angels for
Haiti. She founded this initiative in 2004.PSWs involved travelled with
Angels for Hati to Port-au-Prince Haiti to participate in humanitarian
aide efforts. After the catastrophic earthquake, Marlene traded all of
her available vacation hours to travel to the distraught and ravaged
country to provide as much aid and assistance as they could muster.
Along with the Angels of Haiti, Marlene and the group arrived within the
first 6 days after the quake, being some of the very first Canadians to
arrive. While there, Marlene performed her duties as a PSW and helped
with severe trauma and disaster relief.
Marlene was able to travel with the members of Angels for Haiti two more
times, and each time providing more and more relief medical care,
including assisting in surgery, dentistry and post-op neurosurgical care
at one of the local hospitals. Because of her dedication to caring for
her residents at home and her commitment to helping those abroad, we
are thrilled to present Marlene Magashazi as the 2010 PSW of the Year
Award.