Guyanese-born Jasma Narayan, a social worker and community activist, was recently presented with an award for her work with women and children by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

The presentation took place at the ETFO annual meeting in Toronto, Ontario, reports in the Canadian press said.

The ‘Women Working in Social Activism on Behalf of Women and Children Award’ which Narayan received is granted annually by the EFTO to a woman or group of women who are not members of the body but did outstandingly in social work on behalf of women and children in Ontario.

The ETFO represents 65,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher union outside Quebec.

Narayan left Guyana for Canada in 1966 where she earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work. She has worked as a day care supervisor, a life skills counsellor and the executive director of Better Beginnings Better Futures (BBBF) which she considers the highlight of her career, the release added.

The Guelph area in which the BBBF is located is said to have a high concentration of low-income families and children at risk.