It was an emotional day when the Home Instead® client told Care Professional of the Quarter Sahar: “You are a gift from God for me.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the home for 15 to 20 minutes. Later, Sahar recalled the moment and said, “This client will be in my heart forever. She touched my soul. She is so happy when she sees me, and I am happy to be with her. We have a lot of beautiful days together. We have a harmony.”
Flash back to August 2020, when Sahar took the Care Pro position with Home Instead of Naperville. Sahar was well-prepared for her new job because helping others is ingrained in her soul. “That is what our religion teaches. I did not need any special training to assist seniors because that is what is in our hearts where I grew up. This is something that comes naturally for me.” Before she married, Sahar admitted she had considered herself an introvert.
In fact, before Sahar was married, her career trajectory was aimed toward the business world. She certainly had the aptitude for that bent. Sahar has a bachelor of science degree in accounting, although she also had considered becoming a pharmacist. Sahar, however, ultimately felt conflicted about becoming an accountant.
Referring to her Home Instead position, Sahar said, “For sure, the outgoing personality I have now is a 180-degree turn from the way I was. After getting married, I experienced a change … for the better. I feel the warmth of my personality has grown exponentially since I joined Home Instead. I feel I have chosen this line of work because I feel more comfortable and fulfilled. The clients trust me. From the first time I am with them, they like me.”
Sahar added: “I give my clients the love and caring they need. I take a happy attitude whenever I am with them. I truly hope I can bring them joy. I doubt very much if I would feel this way if I were an accountant. I would be more quiet and reserved. But I love my senior-care job. Variety is the spice of life, and I do something different every day, even if it is with the same client. There are different emotions, different feelings from day to day. We live ‘in the moment.’ When they cry, I cry with them. When they laugh, I laugh. I try to take them out of their sadness.”
Before arriving in the United States with her husband, Sahar, a native of Sudan, knew about senior care but only from a family caregiving view. “We don’t see this kind of professional caregiving in my native country. In our culture and religious faith, the families take care of their senior loved ones. It is very important to give care until your senior loved one dies,” Sahar said.
And Sahar is actually a long-distance family caregiver of sorts for her father, who lives in Sudan even though it has been embroiled in a civil war since 2023. “I had the opportunity to be with my dad when he received his cancer diagnosis about a year ago. It has been a very painful time for my dad. Three of my sisters are doctors in the United Arab Emirates. Of course, they are intensely interested in caring for our father, and obviously not just because they are successful medical professionals. They are amazing. They have their medical expertise, but they also have big hearts,” Sahar said.
“Because of this situation, I love the flexibility of Home Instead. I return to my homeland in Sudan every three months. With Home Instead, I can choose the days and the duration of my shifts. Home Instead is so organized that I know my schedule and can plan ahead. You couldn’t find this flexibility if you worked in a care community. The amazing thing with Home Instead is that I can be gone for longer periods of time because of my travel overseas. Usually when I come back, I have the same client.”
Sahar also is a caregiver in her own family – she and her husband have two sons.
“My oldest son was a high school freshman in 2020 when I started with Home Instead. My youngest was in seventh grade. My Home Instead position was my first job here in the U.S. My husband has businesses, including overseas, and he travels a lot. I felt it was time to get a job. I don’t like to sit at home and watch TV. With my children in school at the time and my husband traveling often for his businesses, I thought, ‘This is the time to do something, to go to work at something I enjoy while helping people,’ ” Sahar said. “I found Home Instead online. I had never heard of the company. The staff were eager to have me come in for an interview three or four days later. At the end of my interview, they asked me if I was ready to begin job orientation. I was!”
Summing up her Home Instead experiences, Sahar said: “My clients give me honor every day just as I honor them. It makes me feel good. Even before the franchise gave me this Care Pro of the Quarter award, I have felt honored from my clients every day.”
At our award-winning Home Instead franchise, owned by Kelly Hutchison, all Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (630) 637-3360 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at homeinstead.com/location/402.
Our Home Instead franchise serves five Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will) and 29 Chicagoland towns (Aurora, Bartlett, Batavia, Bolingbrook, Bristol, Campton Hills, Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, Kaneville, Millbrook, Montgomery, Mooseheart, Naperville, North Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield, Plano, Sandwich, Somonauk, South Elgin, St. Charles, Sugar Grove, Warrenville, Wasco, Wayne, West Chicago, Winfield and Yorkville).
