I have been volunteering with Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) for 12 months now and I am impressed at how regularly I’ve been able to get ‘boots on the ground.’
Since joining the Tasmanian Disaster Relief and Recovery Team, I’ve been deployed twice to Victoria to assist with ongoing bushfire recovery efforts, as well as to Queensland to assist with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
I saw the work DRA volunteers were doing on the news and it compelled me to help. I wanted to be part of an organisation where I could make a difference, and be mobilised quickly.
Working alongside many military veterans at DRA has been a meaningful experience as well. A daily DRA tradition while on deployment, while staying at the Boolarra military memorial during Operation Marshall, I was selected for the honour of reading The Ode. It was a great honour to read The Ode as we lowered the flag after a hard day’s work. I don’t come from a military background, but it reminds me of all they fought for. It is a special DRA tradition. Afterwards we gather up and have dinner and share stories.
I’ve also been able to do a lot of training with DRA, and I’m now proficient in maintaining and using chainsaws safely. I often volunteer alongside people with decades of experience using chainsaws, so it is a very supportive environment and a great place to learn.
I’m constantly having new experiences through DRA and am now enjoy seeing familiar faces on each operation, some have even become my lifelong friends.
All I can stay is that I wish I’d found out about DRA sooner.
The Ode
They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.
Coleen.