Gwynne Barnett (Personal Care Worker)
I joined YNA in May 2023 and worked contracts in a range of sites throughout the NT; Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy, Katherine, and Wadeye, each one an adventure.
I then accepted a contract on Kangaroo Island, in the aged care wing of the Kangaroo Island Health Service. I decided to drive from my home in Mackay in Queensland to South Australia, I love a road trip!
Since being here on KI, I have sold my home in Queensland. I then flew back to pick up my new mobile home and drove back to Adelaide.
The initial contract was for 8 weeks- that was 16 months ago, and I am still here!
I feel ‘part of the family’ with the Hospital staff and clients and locals. It has been an extraordinary time for me. I have explored the Island and made lifelong friends.
While on the island I studied remotely and now have a Certificate IV in Lifestyle and Health, adding another string to my bow and opening up work opportunities on my travels. The R&R Team will “follow me’ on my travels and line up work on the way as I may want.
My sister is joining me from Queensland when this contract finishes, and we are heading off on the road to Western Australia to visit family in Port Hedland. More adventures!
I can’t imagine living in a house again. I am going to work in the north during winter and head south for the summer. I have a new sense of freedom. I feel like a gypsy, or the Leyland Brothers missing sister!
Working with YNA has made all this possible.
