DONDRA CARE
DONDRA CARE
Your care. Your way.
Your care. Your way.
Our Story
Growing up in a Sri Lankan family and between two cultures, we noticed something that didn't sit right with us. In our own family and community, there's a real stigma around sending parents to aged care. Families would struggle to accept that they need extra support because getting help felt like giving up on them, or like giving up everything that made them who they were: their language, their food, their daily rituals and faith.
As our own parents entered their early 60s, these conversations became much more personal. We began speaking with friends and families from other Asian and culturally diverse backgrounds and realised that these concerns were shared by many communities across Melbourne.
We also recognised something equally important: every family is different.
Australia is home to people from an incredible range of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences, and everyone deserves care that respects who they are as an individual. No matter what ethnic background someone comes from, their preferences, values and way of life should remain at the centre of their care.
That's why we started Dondra Care - because good care is not about asking people to fit into a system.
It is about shaping care around the person.
Meet The Team
We're a brother and sister team, who grew up watching our parents navigate life in a new country, and now we're watching them grow older in it too — that's what drove us to create Dondra Care. Where you recieve your care, your way.
Hasini Wakishta
Hasini studied a Bachelor of Radiation Sciences and went on to complete a Master of Public Health. Her experience across hospitals, medical clinics and cancer care has given her a unique perspective on how illness can affect independence, particularly for older people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Combined with her early training in aged care, these experiences reignited her passion for the sector and inspired her to establish Dondra Care — with a belief in person-centred care that respects each individual’s background, empowers independence and supports people to live life on their own terms.
Isuru Wakishta
Isuru holds a Bachelor of Business and Arts, majoring in Marketing and Sociology. As a compliance consultant across the Aged Care and NDIS sectors, he saw firsthand how few providers could meet the rapidly growing demand for culturally matched care. Working closely with providers also showed him where they consistently fell short, in both compliance and the quality of care itself. Those experiences drove him to build a provider that does things differently: one that closes the gaps he saw and puts culturally safe, high-quality, fully compliant care at the centre of everything it does
Why "Dondra"
Our parents are from the southern coast of Sri Lanka, home to Dondra Head, the island's southernmost point, and the location of the iconic lighthouse. Its light has guided ships safely home along one of the busiest sea routes in the Indian Ocean.
That's the spirit we named our business around. A lighthouse doesn't steer the ship or take over the journey. It simply stands steady, offering guidance so people can find their own way safely.
That's how we think about care — steady, trustworthy support that helps our clients keep living life on their own terms, for as long as possible.