Andree Dolby

Mark Farmer Memorial Award Recipient

I made the choice to involve myself in volunteering at Hepatitis Victoria as this is a sector I am deeply passionate about and wanted to continuously train and upskill myself. I enjoy educating others in the community about liver disease – including hepatitis.

I am a bit of a Jack of all Trades. I am a highly persistent and determined person. I have previously worked as a welfare worker, health researcher and AOD worker to name a few roles. I am also the Volunteer Volunteer Coordinator at Hepatitis Victoria. Most recently, I began training to become a Yoga Nidra instructor which is something I have wanted to do for a very long time.

When I am at Hepatitis Victoria I am constantly involving myself in events and activities such as updating Infoline and Good Liver resources, helping to support the Good Liver mailout and engaging with the community at public events in order to educate others about liver disease.

One of the highlights of the work I have done with Hepatitis Victoria is the collaboration with Angkor Research in Cambodia to translate the book Little Hep B Hero into Khmer. The digital version has been a huge success with support from the Mayor of Greater Dandenong (also a HEP Hero!) and distribution has been on a state, national and global level. There is currently a digital version of Little Hep B Hero in Khmer and I am hoping the Khmer book will be available in hard copy next year.

I have known many people with hepatitis, particularly women. I know the impact on the family that diagnosis and treatment can have. I am encouraged by the availability and subsequent uptake of DAA’s for hepatitis C in 2016 but I still believe that not enough people have taken up this opportunity.

I hope that we can work towards expanding the knowledge of the community in regards to all forms of hepatitis and liver disease and continue to support individuals living with these conditions in the future.