Mr Gutbrod is happy to be back working with the Gawler Foundation. 47529
By Mara Pattison-Sowden
SIEGFRIED Gutbrod can’t wait to reconnect with the people and place which for many years he called home.
Mr Gutbrod has returned to The Gawler Foundation after five years of doing humanitarian work in South Africa.
“When I returned to Melbourne, I was hit by the affluence and waste of society,” he said.
“I’ve been walking around thinking, ‘Am I in the right place?’”
Mr Gutbrod has been welcomed back to the foundation and will be working in the position of Therapeutic Director.
“There was no other organisation I wanted to work for. If I couldn’t work here, I wouldn’t have wanted to work,” he said.
In Africa, Mr Gutbrod worked for seven months at a large orphanage near Johannesburg.
He was involved in the day-to-day running of the orphanage, which accommodated 160 children and provided physical, emotional and spiritual care for the many children and villagers dying of AIDS.
He then moved to Hermanus in the Western Cape to join Camphill Farm Community.
This community provided a home and work environment for 60 adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.
He said the jobs were challenging and there were never enough resources.
“I would spend 70 to 80 hours a week just to get the basics done,” he said.
His return to Australia at the end of 2009 was for family reasons, but the Gawler Foundation has welcomed him back with open arms.
He spent almost nine years with the Foundation in the role of General Manager and therapist and is widely regarded for his compassion, insight and understanding.
Members of the Yarra Valley community will remember Mr Gutbrod for his vibrancy and zest for life, but he also provided counselling and spiritual care for many in challenging times.
