Lost and Found

I landed back in Sydney last night after completing my final week in Darwin. I learnt an enormous amount in the 9 months that I spent up there. Not only about life in Darwin, but about the challenges faced in remote parts of our country, about life for our Indigenous, and a lot about myself.

I originally took on the contract for a number of reasons. I have had a keen interest in Indigenous affairs since reading my fiancée’s PhD on Indigenous Health. I was also excited about living in a new city for a while having lived and worked in Sydney my entire life.

Prior to taking this role I had spent the better part of 10 years working for a large bank so I was looking forward to working outside the corporate environment. I was even happier to be working for a not for profit (NFP) company.

I think I had some naïve views about what it would be like to work for an NFP. Given their missions are usually about altruism and community, I had thought that those who worked for them would embody this. Sadly, this was not always the case. Of course there are a number of people who’s career focus is about improving the lives of our Indigenous, but I would say that to the majority of people it is just a job. A lot of people wouldn’t have the faintest idea about the challenges Indigenous people face. I don’t profess to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I did all I could to learn during the time I was here.

Having said all that, the people that do believe in the cause and understand what the mission is go a long way to making up for those who don’t. There are some truly passionate people, some of whom have been here since the very start. These are the people that the organisation needs to hang onto, and listen to, if they are going to succeed.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Darwin. I will miss the weather, the relaxed way of life and the fact that you can wear your thongs anywhere. Most importantly I will miss the geckos.