Priceless service

By Nicole Williams
SPRINGVALE’S Jacqueline Celestin Corentin lives by the words – “Volunteers don’t get paid not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.”
Ms Corentin has been volunteering for 14 years and received a Victorian Multicultural Commission Multicultural Awards for Excellence at an awards ceremony at Government House last Wednesday.
The 61-year-old was nominated through her association with the Cultural Historical Association of Rodriguan and Mauritians.
Ms Corentin said volunteering is an enriching way of life.
“I truly enjoy working for the community and serving a diversity of communities who have truly enriched my knowledge about other communities, and along the way I have made many friends,” she said.
“I am very happy with what I have done but I did not expect this. It is nice to have other people notice the good work.”
Ms Corentin has touched lives through her work with Right to Life, the Cyrene Centre and the Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau, to name only a few.
She has also dedicated time to write to prisoners in Australia and an Australian woman in Mauritius.
Having moved to Australia from Mauritus in 1969, Ms Corentin continues to nurture her connection to her homeland with regular visits and work with local Mauritian and multicultural organisations like the Mauritian Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group and the Lupus Foundation in Mauritius.
“I am very proud of a Mauritian heritage and are very grateful to continue working for the Mauritian and multicultural communities in Melbourne.”