Making a Difference

02 Sep 2017

For most people, retirement means slowing down. For Patricia Slattery, from the Probus Club of Umina, it’s been just the opposite. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Throughout her life, Patricia had been involved in serving her local community. And when she retired from school teaching, she realised she wanted to spend more of her time helping others. “I retired in 2000, and my husband had passed away two years before,” Patricia says. “I was with my friend and we thought, ‘why not do some volunteering?’”

More than a holiday

Patricia ended up spending a total of eight months abroad, splitting her time between the Dominican Republic and South Africa. In that time she volunteered to help the elderly, refugees and orphans. “I went out to the villages and did advocacy work with the children there,” she remembers. “The second time I went I did the same sort of thing, but was also working and going up to the mountains and taking food to refugees from Zimbabwe because that was when they were having a really bad time.”

Being noticed

Unbeknownst to her, Patricia was nominated for an Order of Australia medal for her charity work. “Someone nominated me saying that I’d been doing this and that, and then I received a letter,” she says. “They did a lot of background checking. They even spoke to the people in South Africa, just to make sure everything was the truth. It’s a very humbling experience, really really humbling.”

Throughout her life, Patricia has tried to live by one of the sayings of Mary Mackillop, Australia’s first saint. “Never see a need without doing something about it. I think that’s sort of been the basis for what I do,” Patricia says.

All in the family

As far as the future goes, Patricia has no doubt she’ll continue volunteering at Mary Mac, a service that provides food for the homeless in the Woy Woy area. “I will continue to volunteer until such time as I am not able,” she says. Patricia also wants to spend as much time with her family as she can. “I have a huge family; 14 grandchildren, my 24th great- grandchild was born last week, and I’ve got another one due in two months. Out of everything, I find that the most impressive,” she says.