The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
1 February 2004
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Dunbar mystery unraveled
New school bid for ‘male-only’ offers
Twins among high achievers
Parents urged to read new books
Steps to safety
Priests honoured
Doing the Lord’s work
Religious named
Pregnant pause: To do or not to do? Oh, baby!
Insurance board post
Caring for needy
Lay Catholics
Editorial: True blue
Letters: Thanks to institute
Conversation: Mons Paul Ssegemogerere, vicar general of Kampala, Uganda - Helping his country tread the right path
Today – God’s gift to us all
Refugee children say ‘thanks’
Chinese community has much to celebrate
The stained-glass detective
Teacher, priest and puppeteer
Riding a wild horse ...
Up there, Ignatius!
Mates give Bulls’ groom Super send-off
Caring for needy
By Marilyn Rodrigues
Care for the needy is still held in high regard in Australia, if the number of people from the St Vincent de Paul Society and other charitable organisations included in the Australia Day Honours list is anything to go by.
Alan Kennedy, St Vincent de Paul Society’s NSW state vice president, received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Armidale.
Alan has given a staggering 60 years of service to the Society, having first becoming interested as a school boy at St Stanislaus College, Bathurst.
His award is especially for his work with Freeman House, a special work of the Society, which provides live-in rehabilitation for men and women with drug and alcohol dependencies.
“I enjoy it, you meet a lot of great people and funny people,” he says.
“You also meet some real hard cases that you might be tempted to write off, but then you give them an opportunity and they come through.
“So even if you think someone is not going to do any good, it’s always in the back of your mind that this time they try rehabilitation it will work.
“I’ve got a great admiration for those people who manage to resurrect their lives.
“I’m very fortunate to be involved with that.
“It’s wonderful to see the good that people do, not only in St Vincent de Paul but other similar organisations.
“Some people give their whole lives, it’s amazing.
“People always think of the volunteers, but our poor staff never get recognised, just because they get paid for it. Our staff at Freeman House and at the head office at Lewisham are amazing as well.
“We started Freeman House in 1979, so this year is our 25th anniversary, and it’s great to have an OAM to go with it,” says Alan.
Kevin Sullivan received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community, particularly through the St Vincent de Paul Society.
He has been a volunteer for the North Parramatta conference more than 50 years and is also an acolyte at St Monica’s parish, North Parramatta.
Dr Ronald Hambleton, of Queensland, also received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the community through the Society, plus internationally by providing voluntary dental services.
John Dance received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of the Huon Valley, Tasmania, part
icularly through the St Vincent de Paul Society.
And Marie Willis of Evanston Park, South Australia, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through the St Vincent de Paul Society, and to rural community development, particularly through Women in Agriculture and Business of South Australia.