Six questions with... Syreeta Challinger
What’s your favourite way to greet people?
A hug! I go right in there with my friends and family and a strangers if the vibes are good.
What conversation makes you happy?
Conversations with my husband Rob make me happy. He lost all power of communication after a catastrophic brain haemorrhage and stroke in 2014. The fact his speech came back and is getting stronger and stronger makes me beam. We used to communicate through sketching, so a good chat these days, even with his challenges of Aphasia are pure gold.
What conversation topic makes you nervous?
I tend to get a bit wobbly around money conversations, especially when closely linked to DWP. More passionate than nervous.
As a carer and advocate for Rob, I am fiercely passionate about neurodiversity within the work place and within society and getting the support deserved.
What makes you laugh?
Alan Partridge, chats with friends, a good meme.
If you could ask someone, dead or alive, anything - who and what would you ask them?
I think I would speak to my grandmothers. On my Mauritian side, I’d love to speak with her about her strength and resilience; how she raised a family of 5 as an illiterate widow, yet ensured all her children were highly educated. And my English side, she had my Dad in 1949 aged 16, which was most scandalous at the time, faced incredible challenges and adversity too. I'd love to get to know them both over a stiff drink, one thing that united them both regardless of the fact they couldn’t speak the same language!
What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
The bravest thing I have ever done is surrender my life as I knew it to stay by Rob’s side and support him post haemorrhage. I gave up everything I had worked hard for, to be by his side. It’s the toughest, most courageous and rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
Syreeta Challinger