New Aussie citizen welcomed

More than 16,000 people choose 26 January each year to become an Australian citizen and last Saturday Barkly Regional Council Mayor Steve Edgington welcomed Mollen Tendai Chivhoko to the town at an official Citizenship Ceremony up at Battery Hill Mining Centre.

Mollen, or Molly as she’s known to family and friends, was born in the city of Masvingo in Zimbabwe. In 2008 she graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Political Science. She then went on to work as a Community Development Officer for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the Public Sector for the Zimbabwe Government. Five years ago, Molly moved to Australia to join her husband Ephraim; an ICU trained Registered Nurse who was working at the Alice Springs Hospital. She worked in several jobs, including Case Manager at the Alice Springs Women’s Shelter and Catholic Care NT. In 2017, Molly graduated with a Masters in Social Work from Griffith University on the Gold Coast. The following year she joined the Northern Territory Government as a Child Protection Practitioner with Territory Families but due to staff shortages in Tennant Creek, she volunteered to move up here in November 2018 in the same role. Her husband now works in the Emergency Department at the Tennant Creek Hospital. Molly says she loved Australia the moment she first landed at Perth International Airport in November 2013. She would love to remain in this country, especially now Molly and her husband have a three-year-old daughter, Tiana. She loves Tennant Creek and enjoys living here because it is such a small, multicultural town and easy to raise children. Becoming an Australian citizen is important to Molly as it will give her a sense of belonging by allowing her to participate in events like voting and jury duty. She sees it as a privilege and will honour her commitment to this country.