Martine Thompson is one of the most passionate and caring members of the Lithgow region.
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She is a dedicated disability support worker, with a long background as a carer.
Her journey began as an aged care worker and flourished from there.
"After five and a half years in the aged care system, I thought it was time for a change," she said
"I was still wanting to help people live their life to the best of their ability."
Martine's friendly smile is welcomed by her clients, whose quality of life is imperative to her work.
"It's about treating people with dignity and making a positive impact on somebody's life," she said.
"Not dissing their ability, embracing what they can do, not what they can't do."
As a single Mother, Martine has faced some struggles with juggling her home and professional life.
"There's been a few ups and downs with family, being the only breadwinner in the house," Martine said.
"Also making sure i've got a good work life balance, sometimes that just doesn't work."
COVID-19 continues to take its toll on essential workers around the world, Martine was one of the people who continued working tirelessly to serve the community.
"During the pandemic I was still in aged care. I did community care work, so I found that the workload doubled. I was very close to burnout as a result," she said.
As well as being at risk of burning out, Martine faced the ongoing fear of unintentionally making her clients unwell.
"My fear rose of inadvertently passing COVID on to clients. That whole fear, and of just having to reassure them," she said.
"The isolation and no freedom, I found it a bit confronting."
According to Martine, A challenge for women in the region is the amount of male dominated industries. With that challenge comes the opportunity for women to challenge themselves in those positions.
"There's a lot of male led industry. Basically, if you're a woman you work in hospitality, supermarket or in the care industry. Earning capacity isn't quite as high as if you were a male,"
"But on the flip side, there is plenty of opportunity for women to break the glass ceiling,"
Martines advice to women of the area is-
"Just be you, Don't take anyone's drama and believe you can do something."
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.
