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Areeb’s Story

Areeb diving photo

Areeb’s experience is absolutely amazing and rewarding

Jacqueline Banki

‘Absolutely amazing and rewarding!’ That is how Aussie Hands Treasurer, Areeb Ovais, summed up his last two years of engagement with Aussie Hands.

Areeb first heard about Aussie Hands in 2018, while searching for an organisation that brought together people with upper limb differences. ‘I was fortunate enough to connect with Elizabeth Borg through the Aussie Hands Facebook group,’ said Areeb.

He was quite proud of becoming a member of such an established organisation in Australia and said: ‘Meeting Elizabeth, the founder of Aussie Hands, then hearing her story behind the organisation and her son Dave made it quite special and personal for me.’

Born with a congenital left-hand deficiency with no left wrist, hand or fingers, Areeb wanted to connect with Australians who could share similar experiences of living with a hand difference.

Areeb’s involvement with the wider Aussie Hands community has taken on many forms. ‘I love putting on my Aussie Hands Squad t-shirt while attending various events,’ he said proudly.

‘I have also attended events where Aussie Hands connects with other organisations. For example, we collaborated with Grill’d as part of our local charities campaign to raise funds to support Aussie Hands members to attend AMP Camp,’ added Areeb.

With his commitment and expertise quickly recognised, Areeb was asked to join the Aussie Hands Board of Management.

‘My current role is Treasurer and I decided to join the Board to provide support in accounting and finance, leveraging my skills as an auditor at PwC Melbourne. My aim is to assist in making sure that we are making the best decisions for the members and the community,’ continued Areeb.

For Areeb, the most rewarding aspect of being a volunteer with Aussie Hands has been: ‘The interaction and support that I see members provide each other on our social media channels and attendance at events. All the hard work is worthwhile when people can support each other from shared experiences and learn things they may have not thought about before.’

His volunteer experience has been very positive: ‘I would encourage members to volunteer with Aussie Hands. If you have skills in fundraising, marketing and communications, events, administration or would like to be a State Coordinator, we would like to hear from you.’

Finally, a shout out to our mascot from Areeb: ‘I am a big fan of Teddy’s adventures on social media as you just don’t know where else Teddy will pop up next.’

Thanks to Areeb for sharing how he engages with Aussie Hands. Read here for our first story about Areeb.

Help Aussie Hands continue to support people like Areeb by making a donation.