Member since 2010
My introduction to VRA was a bit unexpected. I had recently moved to Australia and was living in Dubbo, where I became involved with the local Scout group. The Scouts took part in a joint vertical rescue activity with VRA Rescue NSW – Dubbo, and that was my first real exposure to VRA and the work they did.
I had some previous experience with ropes, knots and rescue-related activities through my involvement with Civil Defence back home in Venezuela, so I naturally became quite interested in what the VRA team were doing. That activity gave me the opportunity to meet some of the Dubbo members, learn more about VRA and, ultimately, opened the door to me joining the squad.
During that joint activity, some of the VRA members noticed that I was already comfortable with ropes, knots and working at heights and started asking about my previous experience. We got talking, and they encouraged me to come along to the squad and get involved.
At the time, I was relatively new to Australia, away from most of my family and still finding my place in a new country. So, although no friends or family encouraged me to join, the invitation from the VRA members came at a pretty important time for me. I joined because VRA offered a combination of things I already enjoyed – helping people, rescue, learning new skills and working as part of a team but it also gave me an opportunity to become part of my new community.
What I didn’t know then was that one invitation after a Scout activity would turn into almost 16 years of volunteering, friendships, learning, teaching and experiences across VRA Rescue NSW.
For me, the thing I love most about being a volunteer is the people and the purpose. There is something pretty special about people from completely different backgrounds giving up their own time, training together and being prepared to respond when somebody else is having one of the worst days of their life.
I also really enjoy the learning and teaching side of volunteering. Over the years I’ve gone from being the ‘new member’ trying to learn everything I could, to having the opportunity to train, mentor and assess other volunteers.
Seeing someone develop their confidence and skills, and then watching them use those skills to help their community, is probably one of the most rewarding parts for me now.
Volunteering has taught me that you never really finish learning. There is always another skill to improve, another person you can learn from and, eventually, something you can pass on to the next person.
Meet other members like Luis by joining your local VRA Rescue NSW squad.