Mrakovic holds a 10-minute-old baby born in CMAT’s field hospital in Haiti. Photo courtesy of the Etobicoke Guardian.
Toronto (Etobicoke) resident Maida Mrakovic, a Bosnian Canadian recently received a humanitarian award for her work in Pakistan and Haiti.
Mrakovic who works full time as a nurse at the Credit Valley hospital in Mississauga and on a casual basis at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton was awarded the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services’ Regional Recognition Certificate for Humanitarian Services on June 2.
She was nominated for the award by her coworkers at Maplehurst for her volunteer work with the Canadian Medical Assistance Team (CMAT), who help victims in disaster zones all over the world.
According to the Etobicoke Guardian, it was her early life experiences in Bosnia which influenced her to volunteer with CMAT. She lived in Bosnia until 1995 when she immigrated to Canada.
“When I saw people helping out down there, I knew that it was something I wanted to do, too,” she told the Etobicoke Guardian. “So, when I saw the stuff on TV (in Pakistan and Haiti), I just wanted to go help. It’s just a passion; there’s this feeling you get when you help someone, the thanks and the love and the hugs – it’s so worth it, it’s unbelievable.”
Mersiha Gadzo 