RECOGNISED with a Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Awards, Coffs Harbour resident Elizabeth (Beth) Rogers’ exemplary work has been in service to refugee support services, specifically as a volunteer supporting Burundian refugee families, since 2006.

Beth will travel to Sydney later in the year to receive her award at Government House.

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News Of The Area chatted with Beth about her work.

“The first Burundian family I met lived in a house down the road and we took them a meal one night,” Beth told NOTA.

This family was a single mother with five children.

“From that simple exchange, their children came over to play with my grandchildren, starting a friendship.

“I started to invite them to family outings with my children’s families.”

What drives Beth to do this work is having lived experience of being a single mother herself.

“I was once a single mother of four children and found it tough to make ends meet.

“However, I was blessed to have a very supportive family and friends in town, and I was fluent in English.”

Beth imagined what it would have been like for this Burundian mother in a foreign country.

“We are so fortunate in Australia, and we have a lot to give.

“I had time, because I was retired, and I could also give them my family to become theirs.”

Beth is also inspired by her Christian faith.

Since 2006 she has supported many members of the Coffs Harbour Burundian community with such services as deciphering school notes, transport when the weather was bad, or when they wanted to attend sporting practices or events.

She has read to the children, listened to them read and played cards and board games with them to build their English and maths skills.

She also accompanied one young person to Sydney so they could get an award and visit the zoo.

“I’ve taken them on family holidays to visit my extended family, acted as a referee for them when they applied for jobs, supported them with homework and taken them for driving practice,” she said.

Anyone inspired to help others will find many families and neighbours in need in our community, according to Beth.

“It only takes sharing a meal and some invitations to get to know them.

“People often think it is hard to connect, but food and family are universal.

“My family and I learned and gained far more from them than we gave.

“They became part of an extended family, and we treasure that,” she closed.

Francoise Fara Muhoza, a refugee from Burundi who lived in Coffs Harbour from when she was first in Australia until she finished school, said she is indebted to what Beth offered her family.

“There are no words to describe how blessed we were to have Beth Rogers in our lives when we first came to Australia when I was a teenager.

“The first time we met her was in 2008, and since then she has done so much for my family and me.

“She helped us while we were still learning English and I was amazed at how she understood me and my mum speaking broken English.

“But still, she stood by us.”

With visits to Sydney, study support, family picnics and holidays, Francoise puts a lot of her development and self-belief down to the support given to her and her family by Beth.

Francoise is now studying ‘International poverty and development studies’ full time at Avondale College in Sydney.

By Andrea FERRARI