Sprinkling love wherever she goes

LIVING in Zimbabwe and South Africa as a young person, Jenny Hamilton Browne was a child of war.

“At boarding school, we were taught to wrap ourselves in our doonas when the town was under rocket or mortar attack,” she said.

These experiences shaped her into a “community person,” who is a passionate humanitarian and animal welfare advocate.

In her 20s, Ms Hamilton Browne was a volunteer in private game reserves, rehabilitating cheetahs to return them to the wild. In the corporate world, she would run lunches for the elderly.

“I donate my time to humans, and my money to animals,” she said.

In 2008, Ms Hamilton Browne made the decision to move to Australia for a job with Ballarat’s the KIDS Foundation, but she didn’t know many people in her new home.

“I didn’t have a friendship base, and was a single mum, so I thought, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to live and work here, so the best thing I can do to get to know my community is to spend my time giving back,” she said.

Joining the Red Cross, Ms Hamilton Browne has been involved in many emergency and food relief efforts since, but one of the most memorable is her trip to Gippsland during the Black Summer bushfires just over two years ago.

Trained in psychological first aid, she boarded a tiny plane to Mallacoota from Melbourne, not knowing where she would sleep, or the extent of the “horrifying trauma” the community had faced but she knew, “I had to do this.”

“We worked at an assistance centre… We could refer people to support, but sometimes they just wanted a cup of tea and a chinwag, which was what they needed; someone to talk to and someone to listen,” she said.

“They’ve lost so much, and yet they still ask about you.”

The small Red Cross team travelled with their own psychologist for support. Having been in Mallacoota for 10 days, he assessed Ms Hamilton Browne’s mental health and gave her feedback.

“He referred to me as ‘sprinkling love and fairy dust wherever I go,’ and they still call me Sprinkles,” she laughed.

More recently she has received a National Emergency Medal from the Federal Government for her contribution to emergency bushfire relief in Mallacoota.

“I don’t think I need to be awarded for helping where I can when I have so much myself, but I feel eternally grateful and am humbled. I will continue to give back to the community wherever I can,” she said.

Since leaving the KIDS Foundation, Ms Hamilton Browne has worked at the Hepburn Shire in their flood office, and now is venue team leader at the Eureka Centre.

“I just love coming to work. I work with great people next to a beautiful park, and sometimes I get to be at the front desk yakking with our visitors. I just can’t help myself,” she laughed.

Ms Hamilton Browne also volunteers with the City of Ballarat to assist them in running public events, like the Begonia Festival, where possible.