MORE than 100 volunteers turned out to give one another a well-deserved pat on the back.
The afternoon tea put on by the City of Greater Dandenong as part of Volunteer’s Week.
The afternoon tea was held at the Springvale Town Hall on Monday 11 May with an entertaining magician.
Gardening volunteer Mohammad Razeq Shirzad was among the many volunteers who were thanked for their efforts on the day.
Mr Shirzad said he has made life-long friends through community volunteering.
“I am a part of the gardening family, it’s been really interesting I’ve learnt a lot of things about gardening – I knew some basics from my father in Afghanistan but learnt so much more,” he said.
Mr Shirzad moved to Australia in 2013 as an asylum seeker and said he moved for a new life.
“I was at the Christmas Island detention centre for 15 days and was transferred to Darwin detention centre, then to Weipa Scherger detention centre in Cairns for 10 days and then I lived in Rockhampton for six weeks,” he said.
Now living in Dandenong, Mr Shirzad said he has had a really good experience since arriving in Australia and hopes to get a job in his field in panel beating.
He has volunteered for the past two years gardening and assisted planting trees, mulching, building pathways, removing dead trees and cleaning the park.
“In my group of six volunteers I was the translator and interpreter for my group, we had two people from Iran and four from Afghanistan and we had two supervisors from the council.“
Mr Shirzad volunteers every day at different places and also takes learner drivers out to help them get 120 hours of supervised driving.
“I also volunteer with the Dandenong CFA, YSAS youth services, AMES where I support and tutor language and the Kingston Church where I prepare and package food for refugees,” he said.
Due to his bridging visa Mr Shirzad had been unable to work, but is now applying for jobs.
“It was really nice to meet other volunteers at the afternoon tea and I had a lot of fun volunteering and it was a good opportunity to make friends and learn about gardening.“
– GEORGIA WESTGARTH
