I have a passion for the community and helping people, all I needed was the opportunity

Cynthia Kabote

Cynthia is one of our Pregnancy Outreach Workers. Before she joined Gateway Family Services Cynthia had lots of experience working in the community in areas such as mental health, refugees, asylum seekers and people living with HIV.

However, as Cynthia freely admits without further qualifications she was unlikely to advance further than the level she had already attained even with her high levels of experience and ambition.

That is, until she found an advert for a role with Gateway in the local newspaper. In terms of recruitment for roles in health and social care, Gateway takes a different approach. What it values when recruiting for community based roles is passion and experience.

This is something Cynthia has in abundance. "I just thought I would be good at the job, I have a passion for the community and helping people, all I needed was the opportunity". Cynthia has now been with Gateway for two years and has made outstanding progress. Thanks to Gateway's skills escalator model and the hard work and commitment of Cynthia, she has recently completed a foundation degree.

This is something that Cynthia admits never even seemed like a possibility only a few years ago. "Gateway has opened so many doors for me; I really feel that the sky is the limit!" After this Cynthia is planning a BA (Honours) and "who knows maybe after that I could even do a masters!"

Cynthia could not be happier in her current role. When asked to identify a highlight, she found it impossible to identify just one. Cynthia talks of the wonderful team and supportive atmosphere along with the supportive external agencies. "My co-workers have been wonderful, but the structure of Gateway and the encouragement I have received from the management have helped to push me to where I am today".

Cynthia is just one example of how our Pregnancy Outreach Workers Service empowers staff. Many other Gateway workers have followed the same path and we hope that many more will follow Cynthia's inspiring footsteps in years to come.