Annual Report Final 2 - Flipbook - Page 14
Q&A: The Life
& Legacy of
Charlotte Leung
When we arrive at Charlotte’s home, on
Sydney’s Northern Beaches, it’s Charlie the
chihuahua who greets us at the door first.
“He’s my alter-ego”, Charlotte tells us, “and
he never leaves my side.”
With Charlie in tow and true to her
personality, she is prepared. With pages of
stories ready to share; like sinking a boat
as a child before learning to sail smoothly.
Gestures of trying to bake fruit cakes that
went awry. And sewing ball gowns, selftaught of course. You can’t help but notice
this recurring life theme - that failing, for
the right reasons, isn’t failure. The twinkle
in her eye to try and try again. Of righting
wrongs wherever she sees them.
Q. Would you mind taking us back.
What was your nature like growing up?
Charlotte: I was born into the era of
‘children should be seen and not heard’ and
I think that time taught me to be a good
listener. To be a sponge. I was an only child
- a happy one - but alone a lot. So I’d play
cubby house or spend hours banging on
the piano trying to work out how to play it.
And both of my parents were very warm
14
people; my Dad was the type to look out
for everyone. He’d even bring home bluetongued lizards to take care of.
Q. That warmth - is that how interest in
working with people began?
Charlotte: Oh no, I was told I was going to
be a music teacher! At 14 I was teaching
piano and playing for the ballet on the
weekend, making good money. But I
worked so hard at university, I’d keep the
lights on all night studying. And once I had
that training and policies up my sleeve,
there were experiences with social work
that convinced me that things weren’t right.
I saw the injustice; the ways of trying to help
people weren’t working.
Q. Does anyone from those early
experiences in particular come to mind?
Charlotte: We’d give one lady money
and take her to pay her electricity bill.
But what help is that? Another bill would
come soon. And if nobody had walked
beside her, taught the skills she needed to
know, nothing would change in the long
run for her.