MEET RAJ ARNEJA

I am a 50-year-old mother of 2 and I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I was born and brought up in Canada, and I started working very early on–every summer in the berry fields until I was 16. I’ve always been very feisty. If I think of finishing something, I’ll complete it. I won’t look back. I’m a go-getter. That’s my personality. Growing up in New Westminster was tough. It was a racist world then, but, I lived in a really happy household. It was like Grand Central Station in our house, where people would first arrive from India to our house and my dad would help them settle in the country and get jobs. I believe in doing a lot of seva (selfless service), probably because of the values my Dad and Sikhism have instilled in me. I have a good platform where I can do that because of the company we own. I lead the community engagement philanthropy sector of our company. It’s not just about cutting a cheque, it’s about going there, making sure that it’s a fit for our company to sponsor, be a real part of our support. What I do is very important to me.

We tried to conceive but couldn’t. My husband and I wanted to adopt, but we went through the regular channel of conceiving. There is a stigma about adopting a child that isn’t your blood relative in the South Asian community. When that didn’t work, at age 29, I took his power of attorney in one hand and a bag full of baby clothes in another and I flew off to India. I basically went to numerous hospitals in Delhi and gave my name. There were no cell phones, no internet, I was driving around, giving my name and my aunt’s landline number and said if there is any abandoned child, please call me. I got a call 3 weeks later, and that was my son. I managed to bring him home, but I wasn’t sure of the process of adoption, so I had to face all this and get consultation from people. Every little step of the way was a challenge for me but was determined to do it and I did it. I got his adoption papers sorted out, I got a passport for him, I got a visa for him, and I brought him home after 3 months. Fast forward 4 years, I did the same thing for my daughter. My husband was with me that time, but we already knew about the processes. I’ve written a book about this in much more detail, that is going to be published, hopefully, at the end of the year.