Harmony Week Heroes - Swee Wu

To celebrate Harmony Week this year, we caught up with some of our volunteers from varying backgrounds who are doing their part to make the City of Burnside a better place to live. Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Following a lengthy career as a nurse and a midwife, Swee Wu remains dedicated to helping those in need through her voluntary role with the City of Burnside.

As a volunteer at the Community Centre’s reception desk since 2017, Swee has handled a wide range of enquiries and said she loves to help residents reach the services they need.

“People ask for all sorts of information here, from support at home to help with cleaning their gutters or how to get involved with an event,” Swee said.

“My role is to help them get to where they want to be and ensure they achieve a positive outcome.

“I really get to know the community first-hand and see a lot of familiar and friendly faces here each week, which I love.”

Swee also directly supports Kana Nathan’s Senior’s Fit and Fab classes by assisting aging residents who have arrived to participate.

“I make sure they reach the right room for their class and check to ensure we are within the COVID density limit,” Swee said.

“I really admire them for making the effort to come here and support their health and wellbeing.”

Swee said the transition from her role as a nurse and midwife to volunteering took some time to adjust to, but she quickly grew to love her work at the City of Burnside.

“From my past career I am very used to a fast pace of work. Sometimes it can get busy here too, so it’s good to have that past experience!”

Harmony Week runs from Monday 21 March to Sunday 27 March. To find out more, go to www.harmony.gov.au.