Passion for people has new Local Area Coordinator jumping for joy
Sparked in Australia and grown in Vietnam, Ray Mawjee’s passion for assisting people placed him on a path to Feros Care.
Part of a new intake of Local Area Coordinators (LACs), Ray is excited to be able to assist National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants in Canberra to create and review their plans.
Combining life and work experience, Ray loves utilising the same care and approach he’s been able to show in previous pursuits.
“I come from a personal training and social work background and I wanted to get back into community support,” Ray said.
“I worked at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and was really engaged with the community and that drew me to Feros Care also.”
The best LACs care for others
While it wasn’t the only aspect which drew Ray to the company, the 30-year-old is no stranger to assisting people on a wider scale.
Born in South Africa with Indian and Egyptian heritage, Ray’s family shifted to Australian shores in 2000.
Traversing three continents, Ray’s ongoing journey saw him attempt to start up a stroke clinic in Hanoi, Vietnam, before a twist of fate led him back down under.
“When I was in my 20s, I fell in love with a girl who lived in Vietnam, so I bought a return ticket and just stayed,” Ray said.
“I did some personal training for expat Australians and group exercises for people who’d had a stroke. I got in touch with the Stroke Foundation and they sent me an exercise program and books translated into Vietnamese which were distributed into the community.
“That gave me a lot of perspective.”
Looking to take the next step, Ray set his sights on university, applying to “about 50” institutions across Europe, New Zealand and Australia, in the hopes of studying physiotherapy.
As fate would have it, the University of Canberra accepted Ray’s application, placing him on a path towards Feros Care.
“I moved back to Australia and worked at St Vincent’s for a year then came to Canberra to study,” Ray said.
“I have dyslexia and it can be challenging to go through university as an adult. I really wanted to give back and help others, so I signed up as a tutor and assisted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
“Carrying that passion for helping people led me to Feros Care, and I wanted to bring that knowledge and those skills across and apply them to my role.”
Assisting others is at the core of what we do
Now firmly entrenched in his role as an LAC, Ray has been working with a cross-section of participants, putting his experience to use to assist those with physical disabilities, and neurological disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (APS), depression and anxiety.
Wanting to draw further on his experiences from university and social work in assisting those from marginalised communities, Ray’s eventual goal is to engage with Information Linkages and Capacity (ILC) projects.
“I was helping people from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at university and I want to do that again,” Ray said.
“The ILC area calls to me, and I’d love to get out there and help people while showing how great this company is.”
While his long-term future is yet to be mapped, Ray said he felt a strong connection to Feros Care as soon as he saw the website.
Becoming engaged since joining the company, he said he was content and looking forward to assisting participants to live their best lives.
“I was so drawn to Feros Care and the people were so happy… you can’t fake that happiness, so I just wanted to be a part of that community,” Ray said.
“It just felt so inviting, so here I am.”
