Achiever of the Month: Barbara Dobson

North and West Region Palliative Care Consortium Award for Leadership and Excellence in 2007

The North and West Region Palliative Care Consortium Executive Committee has presented the Inaugural Consortium Award for Leadership and Excellence in 2007 to Barbara Dobson from Melbourne Citymission Palliative Care (MCMPC).
Barbara has been instrumental in the establishment and ongoing productivity of the Koori and Torres Strait Islander Focus Group and has established productive relationships between the mainstream and Koori organizations in our region in addition to her complex role at MCMPC.

Barbara has maintained optimism and persistence in the face of difficulties and has remained positive, continually focusing on building trust between a number of diverse organizations. In partnership with Joanne Harrison from VACCHO she has been the driving force in the development and strengthening of relationships with the Koori community and has facilitated the development of a Koori and Torres Strait Islander Regional Plan by the Focus Group. In partnership with Koori colleagues, Barbara has negotiated mandated Cultural Sensitivity training and has encouraged the adoption of Cultural Safety principles within the region and has redesigned the National Competency to create a competency for use in local services.

Barbara has also presented on behalf of our region at the 9th National Palliative Care Conference Indigenous pre-workshop with Brad Brown, Co-Chair from Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.

Congratulations Barbara!

Achiever of the Month: Jane Dai

Jane is Australia’s ambassador for the ‘Petals of Peace’ project. This project was officially launched in Melbourne and Brisbane in October 2003 and has since expanded to other cities and States in Australia and other countries abroad. This initiative assists in raising public awareness of the needless suffering of innocent children in China encouraging children to actively participate in contributing towards a more peaceful and tolerant world.

A brief history of Jane’s painful and tragic experiences in China explains why she has embarked on a selfless, five-year journey personally addressing the United Nations Human Right Commission in Geneva and continuing her appeal by travelling to many countries throughout the world. Jane Dai, with her daughter Fadu, seek to assist in bring to an end the persecution against the fundamental rights and freedom of innocent citizens in China today which continues to destroy the lives of countless individuals and families.

In July 1999 the CCP began its comprehensive persecution against the traditional exercise and meditation system of Falun Gong. Tens of thousands of people who had benefited from the practice began a peaceful appeal so that the CCP could hear the truth about Falun Gong. Jane’s husband, Chen Chengyong, was one of these people. In January 2000, he was arrested in front of a Beijing Appeals Office and sent to prison in Guangzhou. His father wanted to deliver some winter clothes to him, but the police never allowed them to meet. Even criminals were allowed to see family members, but Falun Gong practitioners were denied this fundamental right.

At the beginning of January 2001, Chen was again arrested. At that time, Jane’s visa in her Australian passport was about to expire, and as her request for renewal was refused, she had to bring her one-year-old daughter Fadu to Australia. She had no idea that this would be the last time she would ever see her husband alive. In July 2001 Chen’s body was recovered.

In 2003, Jane and Fadu inspired the launch of the ‘Petals of Peace’ project in various cities in Australia. This initiative over the following years reached many Australian schools and community groups. A website was also set up for children to learn more about the folding of an origami lotus flower as an expression of hope for other suffering children. This same year saw Jane and Fadu travel overseas and to the US to tell their story in Washington DC.

In 2004, Jane and her daughter inspired a ‘Children saving Children’ postcard message appeal. This was the year an Australian chaired the Human Rights Commission and the postcards sent by Australian children were to be presented by Jane and Fadu in Geneva attending the NGI meeting of the United Nations.

During 2005 / 6 Jane’s story is shared many times, and representatives of the Australian media reported on her story. Earlier this year Jane, Fadu and fellow Australians have been visiting Senators and Ministers Australia wide, appealing to them to help stop the ongoing persecution of good people in China. The Australian ‘behind locked doors’ Human Rights dialogues with the unelected Communist leaders of China have failed and newspaper and internet reports daily inform us of the misery behind the so called booming economy of China.

Now in 2006, as Fadu has just started school near Brisbane, Jane will join in several school based ‘Harmony Day’ celebrations continuing to introduce the ‘Petals of Peace’ project to many more children.

Recipient of a Turtle Award in the Spirituality Category is Jane Dai…

Achiever of the Month: Dr Ali Khan

Dr Ali Khan is the CEO of the Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation… RDAC. RDAC was formed in 1992 as an indigenous corporation for serving the Indigenous Communities in the Shire of Wellington and beyond. The Organisation struggled through its existing years of growth, until Dr Khan took over as the CEO in 2001.

The Corporation at that stage was in need of direction, to determine its priorities and to ensure effective delivery of service to its Community. Dr Khan took the challenge and initiated his move in the first instance, by gaining the confidence of the Community and other stakeholders. Kr Khan advocated the need for the programs to come from within the community, to give them ownership and involve the community in its execution. He worked tirelessly, beyond the call of duty, with a visionary zeal.

Health being a pivotal area of need, with no local Koori focussed health centre, Dr Khan initiated the development of the Ramahyuck Health Plan. This plan is based on the needs analysis of the community and views of the men, women and children, which he collected through a self designed questionnaire and several public meeting.

As it stands today, the Ramahyuck Health Plan is fully operational, a morning General Practice Clinic provides consultations through a lady doctor and an after hours service has a male doctor with supporting staff including a registered nurse and health workers.

The Medical Centre is based on a holistic approach to health, as a one stop shop, with other allied health services including optometry, podiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health, drugs and alcohol rehabilitation, pathology and a hearing screening service. The clinic operates without any funding support.

Achiever of the Month: Ann O'Neill

Ann O’Neill has committed the last 9 years of her life to reducing the suffering, isolation and harm experienced by Western Australian people who have bereaved through homicide, or traumatised through other crimes, regardless of their race, gender, class or life circumstances. Ann’s work has flowed to other states and countries, and she hopes to make it global, eventually. The most telling evidence of Ann’s devotion to humanitarianism is in her everyday way of being in the world, which includes…

Spending time with victims of crime, both in person and on the telephone. She is there to hear, acknowledge, and understand people’s pain and suffering, and to refer them to services most likely to meet their needs in a timely and appropriate manner, and then trying to maintain contact so as to follow up on their progress.

Forming treasured friendships through these contacts, which promotes the building of trust, and in turn increase people’s sense of community, belonging, and connectedness; thus reducing some of the isolation and loneliness experienced by victims of crime, especially Secondary Victims of Homicide, who are an extremely isolated subgroup of victims of crime.

Educating and raising community awareness, via talks, lectures and published materials increasing the broader community’s understandings of the unique needs of victims of crime and secondary victims of homicide, and the inequities and secondary victimizations they face which Ann hopes in turn contributes to positive sustained systemic advancements in social justice and human rights for these communities.

Ann liaises and networks with local and international organisations seeking to meet the needs of victims of crime and secondary victims of homicide.

Ann often uses her personal experiences of homicide as an illustrative example, which is often taxing emotionally and physically leaving her vulnerable for criticism and even attacks.

The volunteer nature of activities Ann undertakes, combined with the fact that she has personally donated vast amounts of money and time in kind is evidence of absolutely no ulterior motive.

Ann gives her time and resources to provide 24 hour referral and support for various victims of crime at her own cost. Such support often occurs in her home or in the homes of those seeking support. Ann receives no financial remuneration for these activities.

Achiever of the Month: John Dobson

My achiever of the Month is a man who a month ago I knew nothing about. John Dobson is paradox. Having studied Chemistry at university, his search for meaning led him to enter a Buddhist monastery and live the life of an ascetic. In the 1950’s the idea to polish a piece of glass into a reflecting telescopic mirror started his journey into the heavens. He used ‘junk’ to produce a mount that would support the telescope and the first crude version of the Dobsonian telescope was born.

John Dobson founded the Sidewalk Astronomers of America in 1968 and began to set up his telescopes in cities so that people could look to the heavens themselves. He gave telescopes to kids on the street and began teaching people how to make the telescopes themselves. The view of the moon through the telescope astounded people and Dobson’s organisation grew.

John Dobson still lives the simple life of a monk, though no longer a member of a monastic community. He travels the world conducting class on telescope making, cosmology and astronomy. His telescope design, though based on the Newtonian model was renamed the Dobsonian Reflector Telescope and can be seen on footpaths, in back yards and on rooves all over the world.

Why is John Dobson my Achiever of the Month? Well I was given a Bintel BT 152 Dobsonian Reflector Telescope for my birthday last week and it astounded me. Thanks to John Dobson I now have my own window to the heavens and I tell you, the view of the moon thru the telescope is astounding. You can see every crater, the seas, the mountains... all of it! Not only that the view of stars thru the scope is also amazing. I trained it on “Sirius” a main sequence star and what did I see??? Though light years from earth it looked like a Christmas tree light, flashing blue, green and red through the lens. Now I wait with anticipation for Jupiter and Venus to appear above the horizon so I can finally see my favourite planets first hand!

Thankyou John Dobson!

Links:
• The Father of Street-Corner Stargazing By BRETT CAMPBELL September 1, 2004
• The Official website of Sidewalk Astronomers

Achiever of the Month: December

Cameron Reilly

My achiever for December is my friend Cameron Reilly. Cam is the founder and CEO of The Podcast Network (TPN), which started from very humble beginnings in 2004. I first came in contact with Cam when I heard him interviewed on the radio about podcasting (a totally new concept for me I must say)! It sounded like a great way to reach a wide audience and as I was looking for a way to discuss death, grief and loss with a wider and younger audience, I gave him a call.

Of course the result of that initial call and the subsequent coffee and chat in Gertrude Street was that my podcast Dead Serious became one of the early TPN programs. Since then Cam has grown TPN to be a big player in the internet podcasting world and has just returned from the United States speaking at communications conferences and negotiating deals with big corporations to support TPN.

Cam comes from an IT background having worked for Microsoft and Ozemail and I must say he is a bit of a paradox! A passionate thinker, philosopher and businessman, Cam is also fully committed to sustainability of energy, environment and building of ‘social capital’. He is a true humanist and TPN, under his direction supports community building and social responsibility and directly contributes to educating and stimulating deep thought in the listeners. The logo of TPN “Listen, Learn, Evolve” is truly reflective of Cameron’s personal approach to life. Of course, Cam has a fun side too and really can be quite irreverent as anyone who has tuned into his show “G’Day World” (the VERY FIRST Australian podcast) or the “Father Bob Show” (which he produces with Fr Bob Maguire) will know.

Cam is married with twin boys (who are amazingly cute) and is one of the most widely read people I know. I used to think I had a pretty exceptional general knowledge because of how much I read and research issues, but Cam is amazing… he can discuss philosophy, science, literature, movies, music… to a depth that makes me feel incredibly challenged at times!

So why is Cam Achiever of the Month?

For many reasons, not least of which being that he’s the first person I’ve known to be on the front cover of “The Bulletin” in Elvis sunglasses! Cam “took the leap” and left a lucrative job with an idea and a belief in himself. He started an internet business from scratch which he had to self fund while supporting his family. He didn’t listen to people who told him he was “crazy”, but focused on his passion. He didn’t let the disappointments and small failures along the way distract him from his mission and he has never let fear influence his belief in himself.
Cameron is a man I respect and value as a friend and colleague and I must say he has taught me a lot about many things, but mostly that ANYTHING is possible if you surround yourself with like minded people and you believe in your own ability. Cam has also affirmed for me that if you focus on ‘service’ to others, the universe will provide all you need to achieve your dreams.

Congratulations Cameron Reilly, my Achiever of the Month for December 2006!

You can find about more about Cameron by accessing the following links:
Cameron Reillly's Whoiz site
The Podcast Network

Achiever of the Month: November

Fr James Grant SSC

Father James was ordained in 1984 then spent 2 years as curate at St Luke's in East Frankston, 3 years at St Dunstan's in London (vicar), 2 years as St George's Berlin, 7 years at Geelong Grammar (senior chaplain), 6 years at Peninsula School (senior chaplain), 2 years at St Michael's Grammar, 2 years at St Stephen's Richmond and 3 years as Docklands chaplain for the Anglicans, where he is presently. Fr James has a Theology Degree from the University of Melbounre, and one each from Monash University and UNE in Islamic Studies.

Fr James has been active internationally, having founded two international schools in India; the first in 1994 in Solapur, Maharastra State, and the second in 2003 in Vikasnagar Deradoon, Utter Pradesh. Both schools foster a non-sectarian approach with English as the teaching medium. These schools have grown dramatically in recent years and now service around 1,000 village children previously without education.

On a local level, Fr James is well known as a martial arts instructor, having taught Jiu Jitsu for over 20 years and incorporating these skills into programs designed to combat addictive behaviours.

Fr James is the founder of the first corporate ministry in Australia, providing chaplains in a number of unusual settings including shopping centres, banks, recording studios - all with the aim of providing support within the workplace alongside expanding models of Christian presence and engagement in modern Australia.

Visit Fr Grant's website.