Debbie Raynor has always felt a part of the Lithgow community, but now she truly feels she is at home after receiving her Australian citizenship.
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Ms Raynor is one of nine new australians that were welcomed at a special ceremony on Friday, September 16.
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Ms Raynor moved to Hong Kong and eventually married an Australian man.
"We worked in Central Asia for several years. When that ended, we came to Australia and came here to support his parents who lived in Lithgow. It's only place I've lived in Australia," Ms Raynor said.
The Lithgow community that she has held a special place in Ms Raynors heart since she moved here.
According to Ms Raynor she has always felt welcome in the community.
"People here generally are so welcoming. You can go anywhere and people will talk to you and say, 'Hello', and have a chat. It's very different than living in a place where English wasn't the first language. That was a pretty big thing for me moving to Australia," she said.
"There's a lot of people generally just trying to make the community better, and really working hard at that. Meeting those people really resonated with me, because that's part of what I like doing too is working as a community and seeing things change"
Ms Raynor's life in Lithgow has also brought with it a new career in youth work, in which she is deeply passionate.
"I'm the vocation person at headspace. I help kids try and figure out what they want to do, when they've gotten a bit lost," she said.
"After COVID, and the bushfires and everything we've gone through the last few years. There's a few lost souls, so it's lovely to be able to help them dream again."
According to Ms Raynor, the citizenship ceremony was a lovely gathering and being welcomed into the community has provided her with an extra sense of belonging.
That sense of belonging in a community was signified further, due to the fact her fellow new Australians were also familiar with each other.
"They did put on a lovely afternoon ceremony. It was great that there was a bunch of us, and actually most of us knew each other. So that was fun,"
"Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me because it has made a big difference."
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Reidun Berntsen
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
