Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services’ Post

@Julie Tongs It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend and former Winnunga team member Thelma Weston For over 10 years Aunty Thelma worked full time into her 80’s here at the Winnunga using her skills to manage the needle exchange program. Aunty Thelma was a much loved, admired and well respected, not only in her workplace and amongst her clients, but in the wider ACT community and across Australia. Thelma Weston, a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait, is like no other. Her life is a story of survival, achievement, hope, love and celebration. Despite only having a limited education, Aunty Thelma trained as a nurse and became a fully qualified health worker. She had a long history of outstanding involvement and achievements in the community and has sat on a number of local and national committees and boards. Aunty Thelma was on the board of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) and regularly traveled across Australia to attend board meetings. She is a wonderful example of a wise and caring Torres Strait Islander woman who has achieved much for her family and community. From her 2019 NAIDOC Elder of the year award Her life story isn't just one of achievement and celebration, it's also one of survival and loss. It hasn't been an easy ride for Aunty Thelma, she has not only lost her husband, but also three of her daughters to illness She is a breast cancer survivor and in 2017, Aunty Thelma was one of a few Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who came together nationally to share their stories and experiences as breast cancer survivors as part of a new video produced by Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). Her son, Richard Weston interviewed her in 2019 https://lnkd.in/gH6HKqSV