I was delighted to present Prabhu Natarajan with the Prime Minister’s 1637th Points of Light award today, which recognises outstanding individual volunteers who make a real difference in their community. Prabhu is a true unsung hero and Banbury are very lucky to have him.
His selflessness and generosity has given residents a real boost during such a difficult year. Prabhu delivered over 11,000 chocolates, treats and goodies to hundreds of families across Banbury, putting a smile on many faces.
I met Prabhu along with his wife Shilpa and their son Addhu. Prabhu came to the UK in March 2020, two weeks before the border was shut to join his family. Prabhu and Shilpa both work at a care home with Prabhu working night shifts and delivering food parcels in the daytime. The couple’s wedding anniversary is in November and instead of buying gifts they decided to donate to the community. Since then, 1,600 food parcels have been delivered including 60-70,000 individual food items. I joined Prabhu in delivering some of his food parcels this afternoon.
Prabhu told me that his values and experiences from India motivate him to help the vulnerable. The afternoon was a true celebration of Prabhu’s extraordinary achievements, with many people from the community including the owner of Muffin Break and President of the Indian Association also joining the celebration.
