NT’s most outstanding volunteers encourage others to step up

Two incredible Territorians are paving the way for others to make a difference in the community. Read how the Volunteer of the Year winners are urging others to step up and volunteer too.

Yuba Raj Panta used to distribute clothes and food to people in Nepal before moving to Australia six years ago.

He has been volunteering in the Northern Territory ever since, primarily through the Nepalese Association.

“We’ve done a lot of things, especially during Covid,” Mr Panta said.

“We provided support to about 180 families, which was one of our proudest achievements.”

Yuba Raj Punta has been volunteering in the Northern Territory for seven years and won the Volunteer of the Year award last year. Picture: supplied

Mr Panta won the Chief Minister’s Volunteer of the Year Award last year after being nominated by members of the Nepalese Association.

The 31-year-old from Nightcliff says that he loves the human side of volunteering.

“I love meeting people.

“You get to meet a lot of people through volunteer work.

“The people become your family and a support you will always have.”

Roque Lee, a Larrakia Elder and artist, can attest to this.

The 66-year-old, who now resides in Cox Peninsula, has been volunteering as a bush firefighter for the past seven years and says he has made great friends doing it.

Having worked as a wildlife ranger in Kakadu for ten years, Mr Lee is no stranger to the task of controlled burning.

“It just protects that community from wildfire later on,” Mr Lee said.

“We actually burn in the earlier months before the dry really hits like now, which is pretty terrible at the moment.”

Mr Lee says he volunteers because it is a community-oriented service.

“Even the people that aren’t involved, they appreciate what you do,” he said.

Volunteering as a bush firefighter is no easy task and at 66 years, Mr Lee shows no signs of slowing down.

“You come back, you’re hot, you’re tired, but you can at least rest easy because you know the job’s been done properly,” he said.

Roque Lee is an artist who recently completed this sculpture on the Esplanade. He volunteers in his free time fighting bushfires around the NT. Picture: Zayda Dollie

Mr Lee received the Chief Minister’s Indigenous Volunteer of the Year Award last year.

“I was nominated by a man in my office in Darwin.

“I was quite surprised that I won it.

“I’d love to see a lot more Aboriginal men and women get involved.

“It’s pretty obvious these guys know the country the way I do here and they can support their communities.”

Both Mr Panta and Mr Lee encourage others to volunteer when and where they can.

The former award winners both say volunteering can have practical advantages.

“You actually get really good training, how to work pumps and all sorts of things that you need to know,” Mr Lee said.

For Mr Panta, volunteering opened up a whole new world for him and he can only recommend the experience to others.

“Even for international students, there’s lots of networking opportunities,” Mr Panta said.

“I think it’s one of the most satisfying things to do.

“It impacts a whole community.

“It’s a different kind of satisfaction you can’t get from anything else.”

Nominations for this year’s NT Volunteer of the Year Awards close on September 19.