Volunteer profile: Meet Hanum from Melbourne’s inner west
There would be no Welcome Dinner Project if it wasn’t for hundreds of amazing volunteers all around the country who give boundless passion, dedication and love to make people feel welcome in our communities.
Every fortnight, the Welcome Dinner Project – Victoria will profile one of its volunteers. We hope this helps you to get to know us better.
Role: Facilitator
Joined: January 2018
Why I joined the WDP
As a newly arrived international student with not many friends or contacts in Australia, I wanted to build a network in my local community. By volunteering through WDP I could not only meet people but also make a difference in my local community.
My favourite WDP memory
Overall I really like the sharing of stories through the meal because the group always comes from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. The stories they tell about the food are just so interesting! It makes me happy to look around and just enjoy people getting to know each other. The most memorable experience so far is from the Sunshine welcome dinner when we were treated to unexpected singing performance from our Ethiopian guest Mulu just before everyone went home- it was an amazing experience.
A bit about me
I am passionate about helping people. I’ve worked for a number of NGOs focusing on community development, health and education in Indonesia.
I arrived in Australia from Indonesia in June 2017 to take up a educational scholarship offered by the Australian Government and am currently a full-time public health student at Melbourne University which I really enjoy.
Around my local area I like running and hanging out around Yarraville, Footscray and walking the Maribyrnong River. I love a good road trip too and have so far been around Victoria and travelled to Brisbane, Byron Bay and over to Western Australia. My next road trip will be to Northern Queensland.
My signature dish is Gado Gado, an Indonesian dish with mixed vegetables, peanut sauce, boiled egg and potato, which was taught to me by my Mum.
I’m really looking forward to escaping the Melbourne winter soon to go on holiday to Indonesia for 5 weeks. It’s been a long time since I last visited and I can’t wait!
