Personal Care Attendant and Multicultural Champion at Southern Cross Care Vic
What are you enjoying doing at the moment?
I’m enjoying my job caring for the elderly. Back home I used to help my grandmother. She looked after us when we became separated from our mother during the war. I really enjoyed being with her and doing things for her.
If you had a magic wand, what would you use it for?
I’d change the way the world looks at women.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
The Minister for Health in South Sudan, there are lots of things happening there at the moment.
What would you work for instead of money?
Enlightenment.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone new to Australian culture, what would it be?
To look for others in the community who can support you.
What’s your favourite word in the English language? Why?
‘Power’ because it means a lot: you can do a lot of things, you can stand up for yourself, you can raise your voice, build yourself up with it and make a lot of changes if you have it.
When was the last time you laughed out loud?
I often laugh out loud with my seven year old daughter – children are always doing and saying funny things and sometimes they don’t even have to say anything. The other day she took out a clean pair of underwear out of the drawer thinking it was hers, but it turned out to be mine. The expression on her face made me laugh out loud!
Your most cherished memory?
Back home we used to visit a place regularly during my childhood and I always return to that place and the other children I used to play with and I wonder where they are now. It’s a time and place that keeps coming back to me.
Tell me about an amazing woman you know.
My grandmother who had twelve children and taught me lot about life. At dinner time, she would always tell us stories about her life and the changes that have happened in the country especially because of the war.
What are you reading right now? (e.g. blogs, books, magazines, or anything else!)
I’m reading a lot of women’s health information for a bilingual education course I’m completing.
Do you have a song/music that inspires and motivates you?
It’s a song from South Sudan that roughly translates as ‘The peace has come and the sun has risen’
Is there a favourite cultural tradition that you like to follow?
Sharing a joint bank account with my husband. I don’t know if it’s an Australian tradition, but my husband and I share our finances and we work together on saving. Back home, it’s men who often control the money.
What does multiculturalism mean to you?
It means we’re all in this country together.