A Youthful Yasmin blossoms among Mature Flowers By Peter Elliott With a beaming smile that seemed to light up the whole room, Yasmin Rampuri welcomed me into her office crowded with office supplies and computers at the New Horizons Centre on Menzies Street. Eldest of three sisters, she was born in Rimbey, Alberta, to an East Indian immigrant family who had roots in Mombassa, Kenya and Zanzibar. Indeed, her maternal grandfather was a tutor to the Sultan of Zanzibar before it became part of the State of Tanzania. She came to Victoria and entered the University where after seven years of studies in a variety of sciences she obtained a B.A. in Psychology. She stayed on campus as a Residence Life Coordinator. This experience as a facilitator for over seventy students obviously helped her when with “dumb luck” she one day phoned Kim Dixon, Executive Director, at the New Horizons Society who was looking for a Program Coordinator. Today she is responsible for the many classes, the program advertisement, registration and coordination, the interviews with prospective instructors and finally the arrangement of space and time. Yasmin is dedicated above all to the well-being of the many seniors who will benefit from her ideas and imaginative outlook. A look through the brochure which advertises the Society and outlines its many activities, reveals such activities as birthday parties for paid-up ($30) members, a choir, a hand-bell group, duplicate bridge, cribbage, Tai Chi, Special Events, and an aerobics group called “Active Seniors Enjoying Life.” When I asked Yasmin if she had a wish list, she said it would include two important items. The first, that the seniors who are beneficiaries of these programs “embrace these services, continue with them and take a personal stake and ownership by getting fully involved.” Secondly, she would dearly like to know more about the seniors who pass the building on a daily basis. “We are situated in a high profile area near the James Bay Square.” One glance at the joyful and happy faces around this building proves that this place exists for the young at heart and likely this attitude is mainly because of the joie de vivre of people like Yasmin. Here, indeed, is a community flourishing and blossoming while a Yasmin shines radiantly in this garden of delight which is the James Bay New Horizons Society. Back to Profiles