International Banker, now Volunteer.

February 2010

An economics graduate and former employee of international banks in Hong Kong, Arthur Lee, has struggled to find employment in NZ, but he has never struggled to find ‘volunteer employment,’ and today he is a much valued member of the volunteer team at Wesleyhaven Village.

Arthur’s fascination with volunteering stems back to his youth. As a boy scout and Duke of Edinburgh’s gold award holder, the ethos of ‘helping others’ became almost second nature, and in 1973 when he was a student at the Hong Kong Baptist College (now the Hong Kong Baptist University) he wrote a small book promoting the benefits of volunteering.

In 1999 Arthur left Hong Kong and travelled to New Zealand with his wife and daughter to seek a better future. However, as he soon found, the New Zealand banking industry where Arthur had planned on gaining employment was undergoing major restructuring and work was very difficult for him to find.

Unable to find suitable employment, Arthur turned to volunteering because as he say’s, “I needed to prove to myself that I was still ‘recyclable’ and volunteering made me feel ‘needed.’ ” At the same time Arthur saw volunteering as a way to learn more about New Zealand and its society.”

After approaching Volunteer Wellington’s Hutt City offices, Arthur was considered for volunteer work with several organisations and as he recalls, “by good luck or destiny I chose Wesleyhaven…. I was missing my mother (who had remained in Hong Kong) and saw that working with older people was a way to engage with older people again. Also as these people are rich in life’s experiences, I thought that I could learn from them and help them at the same time.”

Since that time Arthur has regularly assisted Wesleyhaven’s Recreation Coordinator, Tracey Scott to arrange outings, events and functions for Wesleyhaven residents. His volunteer work is varied and may include assisting on trips to take residents around Wellington to visit places like the Airport, other retirement homes, or to see visiting Cruise ships and take part in recreational activities such as indoor bowls.

Arthur feels very well accepted and ‘at home’ at Wesleyhaven, where he enjoys learning about the varied cultures of the residents and in return, he enjoys sharing parts of his culture. Occasionally Arthur and his wife arrange a Chinese cooking demonstration providing residents with an opportunity to learn about Arthur’s culture, and sample the delights of home cooking, Chinese style.

Say’s Arthur, “I enjoy Wesleyhaven very much, everyone respects each other. I have also learned much…. it is like learning oral history from the residents. I learn what they did on the farm, what they did on the railway, what they did during the war. I really enjoy this opportunity to learn."

Arthur finds that he gets huge satisfaction from volunteering. Say’s Arthur, “in the Chinese world the word ‘value’ is often taken to mean ‘money value,’ yet to me, there is no real value unless the work that you do, helps other people.”