‘Volunteering allows me to use my skills to make a positive impact’
Returned Australian volunteer Leigh shares how volunteering locally keeps her hopeful and inspired.
Meet Leigh Dix - an Occupational Therapist who has volunteered in Nicaragua, Fiji and Myanmar with the Australian Volunteers Program.
Today Leigh is a dedicated program Alumni state representative for Western Australia, and she volunteers with the Medical Association for the Prevention of War.
Discover what inspires and motivates Leigh to volunteer in our Q&A.
Q. What do you enjoy about being a state Alumni Rep for the Australian Volunteers Program?
A. I love meeting other volunteers, sharing my volunteering experiences and hearing stories from other volunteers about where they went, what they did, and how the experience has changed them. People have such amazing assignments and experiences! And we usually find we have a lot in common.
Q. What other kinds of volunteering do you do in your community?
A. I volunteer with the Medical Association for Prevention of War. We're a national association of health professionals, working for health by working for peace. I am currently organizing an exhibition about the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As part of this work, we are bringing one of few remaining Hibakusha (Japanese term referring to survivors of the atomic bombings) to Perth to share her story.
Ms Teruko Yahata-san was eight years old when she was exposed to the atomic bomb while in the backyard of her home. I hope that people hearing Yahata-san’s testimony will be touched by the intrinsic courage of the story itself, and what it calls us to do in the world today: help create a world free of nuclear weapons.
Q. What motivates you to volunteer locally?
A. I am lucky to only need to work part-time and so have time to volunteer in a few organisations. Volunteering gives me an opportunity to support issues that are important to me, and where I feel I can use my skills and time to make a positive impact. If I sat around listening to the news all day, I would end up feeling so despairing and powerless.
But by volunteering I am meeting interesting people and hearing about so many great things people are doing, whether that is trying to protect the black cockatoos, replanting bushland, campaigning to save Scott Reef, preparing meals for the homeless, teaching English to refugees, fighting climate change and trying to save the planet, and much more. So many inspiring people doing amazing things! It makes me happy and hopeful and keeps me going.
Q. How did your overseas volunteering experience influence your local volunteering?
A. There has been war and conflict in most of the countries I have volunteered in. As an occupational therapist I have worked with people and children impacted for life by war and weapons.
But I also saw people organising and demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of trauma, loss and displacement. They found ways to rebuild communities and support each other. So, I try to emulate them, helping and giving where I can.
Q. Do you have any final thoughts about volunteering you would like to share?
A. Earlier in the year I organised an alumni visit to the WA Aquarium for International Women's Day. There I met an alumni Ruby, who has been a volunteer guide at AQUA for 31 years! So, I'd like to send a huge, heartfelt 'thank you' to all the extraordinary, inspiring volunteers like Ruby, who generously give so much of their time, working behind the scenes, and who have an incredible impact in building thriving and inclusive communities.
