Douglas' story

My wife and I come from Christchurch in New Zealand. After the earthquake in 2011 we actually lost everything through the looters.

As soon as we arrived in Sydney one of our first point of calls was to go to The Salvation Army to ask for assistance because we had nothing when we came. But when we got here we were welcomed with open arms. We’ve had food hampers [from The Salvation Army], sometimes we’ve had clothing, just, you know, the basic stuff that we’ve really needed, a bit of furniture and all that, because when we came here we had to start all over again.

Because The Salvation Army helped me so much I wanted to volunteer and give something back to the community. My job in the role as a [Salvation Army] volunteer … one of the things that I do for the community is cook breakfasts and lunches. I also help out in the office, whether it is making up food parcels, doing washing, doing other office duties, or just basically being there to talk to people. When we do these things I know I’m doing good for the community.

If I didn’t have the Salvos in my life, I’d be like a lost soul.