Edmund sparks up to volunteer at Braeside Park

Electrician by trade, Edmund White has landed on his feet with his first volunteering experience in Australia.

He is the go-to man to fix residents’ mobility scooters and a range of problems that trouble residents but are often relatively easy to sort out.

Recently retired, Edmund had been working with Coates Hire for ten years as an electrician maintaining and repairing electrical equipment.

‘When I saw the volunteer vacancy advertised on the City of Casey website, I jumped at the chance. This gives me the chance to work with older people close to home and to continue to keep my skills being put to good use,” Edmund said.

He migrated to Australia with his wife Charlotte in 1991 from Bombay, India.

“I was an accidental migrant really. I was sailing as an electrician on Merchant Navy boats. When we docked in Melbourne, I called my aunt who lived here who said that the country was a good place to live. She sent me the application forms, and here we are.”

Some thirty years and two children later, and Edmund is proud to call Australia home.

It hasn’t, however, always been sunshine and roses as he attests.

“The first couple of years were hard. Australia was going through a recession. I had to resit my trade qualifications to make sure they were applicable to Australia. I passed and then found myself without a job,” Edmund said.

Perseverance worked. Today Edmund still cannot quite believe the quality of life he and his family have, nor the friends and opportunities he has had.

Fortune has walked alongside Edmund since his arrival in Narre Warren, and that includes the chance to volunteer at Braeside Park which he describes as friendly, calm and relaxed.

“I am excited about volunteering, and the chance to become part of another new community,” Edmund said.