Ever wanted to know what it’s like to work in international aid? In this special series, we introduce you to our many dedicated staff members working behind the scenes and on the ground, in Australia and overseas.
We hope you enjoy meeting #TeamChildFund!
For ChildFund Laos’ Blonglee Kouchongtoua, being a Global Community officer means going beyond the duties in his job description.
This includes sacrificing his free time a few nights a week so he can run workshops with ChildFund volunteers who want to learn important skills to help their communities.
“Sometimes I am tired from the journey and working until late at night, but I never want to stop,” Blonglee says.
“On the contrary, it inspires me to study and search for new knowledge to pass on so I can encourage these local children to gain abilities to use in their daily lives.”
“I’m so happy that I have passed my knowledge on to local children.”
Blonglee is based in ChildFund’s office in Nonghet, a remote area surrounded by mountains in the northeast of Laos, close to the border with Vietnam.
About 65 per cent of the population in Nonghet are Hmong people, one of the most disadvantaged ethnic groups in Laos.
Villages in Nonghet are still affected by high unexploded ordnance contamination, as a result of the Vietnam war. This has left families in fear, and makes it extremely difficult to farm and build in new areas.
Back in the day life was simpler, says accomplished scientist Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea.
In her senior year of high school there were exams to study for, but there was still time to play in concert bands, sing in the choir and explore the mountainous and coastal surroundings of her home in Mackay, Queensland.
“I was a curious child; I loved nature and was always asking ‘why?’” she says. “So it’s good I became a scientist.”
In her spare time Marguerite, now a leading figure in biomedical research, took part in campaigns to raise funds for children in need and, on the weekends, worked as a pharmacy assistant so she could sponsor a child.
“I was deeply affected by the images of famine in the news … Someone had to do something; why not me?” she says.
“I felt compelled to do my bit … I saw a TV ad about ChildFund with Ruth Cracknell, one of my favourite actors, and I was prompted to pick-up the phone.”
In the decades after high school her curiosity and love for learning stayed with her, and so did her drive to help children in need.
She had big dreams for the future and going to university was naturally the next step in her life.
“I knew I would have every chance to pursue my dreams,” Marguerite says. “I was loved, supported, healthy and safe. I could see this wasn’t always the case for many others my age, especially children in need.”
Today, Marguerite sponsors four children with her partner Charles: “We decided as a family, that as long as we were happy and secure, we would support as many children as we could.”
As the co-founder of Women in STEMM and the executive director of the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM, Marguerite also helps empower Australian researchers and industry figures in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
She is also an ambassador for the Victorian Honour Roll of Women, a Victorian government initiative that celebrates the outstanding achievements of women in the state.
At the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, she’s an honorary investigator.
