Volunteer of the Month - January 2022: Sophie

1. What is your background (profession/ workplace/ training)?

I am currently a junior doctor working at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne. I have just finished my third year of working as a doctor and am hoping to apply for specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

2. What inspired you to become a volunteer with The Water Well Project?

I had heard about the Water Well Project through some colleagues and was having more and more experiences at work with patients who had recently migrated to Australia and often did not speak the same language as me. I felt like I wanted to do more to enable people from this type of background to have more knowledge about the healthcare system and their own health, so join the Water Well Project as a volunteer seemed like a no brainer!

3. Please share one of your favourite The Water Well Project sessions or moments.

I ran a session on mental health a while ago which was my first time doing that topic, we had such awesome engagement with the group and had some really lovely and honest discussions, a year in to the pandemic I feel like it was a much needed session for all of us!

4. What tips do you have for new volunteers?

I would say just go into everything with an open mind and don’t be afraid to jump in! It definitely helps you to feel a bit more confident to have read through some of the session materials a bit and even done some of your own research so you have some points prepared you may want to touch on, but really it’s all about just going with the flow and bouncing off whatever the group and your partner are discussing! I’ve had some sessions go a little of track but we had some great conversations along the way.