FEATURE STORY
WORDS Heather Kennett
CONNECTING OUR
COMMUNITY Volunteering at Morella Community Centre allows Hari Chhetri to meet new people and give back to the community that is now his home. The former Bhutan citizen began volunteering at the centre, in Parafield Gardens, six months after arriving in Australia in 2018 to build additional skills, knowledge and experience that would benefit him in his search for employment. The highly skilled father of two, who previously held foreign service posts in New York, Kuwait and New Delhi for the Royal Government of Bhutan, was forced to flee his country in 1992 and lived in exile in Kathmandu for 26 years, before settling in Salisbury. Hari, 62 says despite the upheaval he’s experienced in his life, he’s grateful to be now living in Salisbury and involved in the local community. “Volunteering gives me the opportunity to meet people, interact with them and establish contacts and have fun at the same time,” he said. “I find it a very rewarding experience which I will keep doing until I find a job, to give back to the people who have been so welcoming of us.” Hari, who volunteers approximately 30 hours each fortnight at Morella and the Jack Young Centre, says he’s involved in a range of tasks 22 | AUTUMN 2020 | SALISBURY AWARE | www.salisbury.sa.gov.au
