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Bunbury resident awarded for spirit of giving

Ailish DelaneySouth Western Times
Bunbury resident Lynda Young was nominated Zonta Bunbury's Woman of Achievement 2020.
Camera IconBunbury resident Lynda Young was nominated Zonta Bunbury's Woman of Achievement 2020. Credit: Ailish Delaney / South Western Times/Ailish Delaney

A passion for helping others fuelled by a Christian faith has landed one Bunbury resident with a Zonta 2020 Woman of Achievement Award.

Each of the six Zonta WA clubs acknowledged a woman who personified the spirit of humanitarianism at a celebration in Bunker Bay earlier this month, with Lynda Young receiving the Bunbury club’s nomination.

Mrs Young said she was grateful to be nominated.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I feel privileged to have won it,” she said.

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It was on a trip to Cambodia in 2011 that Mrs Young found her calling.

“I have a passion for helping people in Cambodia,” she said.

“We went over and were looking for an opportunity to help in whatever way it came.

“We spent a month over there at first and taught English at a free school at night.”

When you see people disadvantaged and struggling, you can’t ignore it.

After that, Lynda and her husband kept returning to Cambodia and planned to build their own community centre.

“We bought our own land to eventually build a community building for education opportunities in the village,” she said.

“There’s a small building we use to facilitate our young English school, but because of COVID-19 there’s not much we can do at the moment.”

Mrs Young said she had organised rice drops for the village and allowed her land to be used as a community vegetable garden.

“We will follow the need of the community,” she said.

“It’s about taking opportunities ... I’m privileged Zonta recognises what I do.”

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