1. What is your background (profession/ workplace/ training)?
I'm an Emergency Registrar working in Hobart currently, previously having worked in Melbourne, Darwin and Laos.
2. What inspired you to become a Water Well volunteer?
I was inspired to join The Water Well Project when I was a medical student (8 years ago now!) as I knew Linny and loved the idea of feeling more connected to the community. The Water Well Project was just starting up then so it was nice to become more aware of refugee communities within Melbourne at the time and learn more about health literacy.
3. Please share one of your favourite The Water Well Project sessions or moments.
A few weeks ago, in a session about dental health we had some time for questions about COVID-19 at the end. One of the participants asked what the difference between Delta virus and Corona Virus was and it was at that moment that I realised that despite completely saturating the media, we are still failing the community with simple, straight forward messaging. It was such a great reminder that the basic health knowledge that we are lucky to have is easy to share in an informed manner.
4. What tips do you have for new volunteers?
My tips for new volunteers are:
-reflect back at the end of your sessions about what you learnt and something new about the community group you were working with, this gives the interaction a human side and makes for greater and deeper appreciation of our shared experiences
-touch base with the other volunteer before the session to say hi and chat through what you are thinking
-running a session only takes about 1-2hours of your time!
