Education
Natalie Murray: A Dedicated Social Worker's Philanthropic Journey
Natalie Murray, a social worker with a passion for helping others, received the Barbados Star Award for her philanthropic efforts. Learn more about her journey from poverty to making a difference.
7 min read
Originally published by nationnews.com (opens in new tab)
Natalie Murray has been a social worker long before she got a job as a social worker.
Her love for people, the desire to see them better their lives, coupled with her bid to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have been the driving forces behind Natalie’s philanthropic efforts for close to 30 years.
It was no surprise to those close to her, when she received the Barbados Star Award during the recent Independence Day Ceremony, for her community work. This award was preceded by the Ermie Bourne (St Andrew) Award which she received from the Barbados Labour Party administration during their annual general conference in October, for her community work in Chalky Mount, St Andrew, where she has lived for most of her life, as well as in the country on a whole.
From a child, Natalie became concerned about helping the less fortunate, even though she herself, according to her, “came up in poverty.”
The former Chalky Mount Primary and Springer Memorial School student told Easy, “As I looked around I saw a lot of poverty. I always wanted to be in a profession where I could help people reach their full potential and better their lives. I grew up very poor. We had no running water or electricity. To watch television, we would go to the neighbour’s house. My parents had four of us at the time. Things were very hard.
Natalie left the Springer Memorial School without any CXC subjects.
She eventually enrolled at the Barbados O’ Level Institute, and went on to work in various fields, including data entry. When the opportunity arose for her to gain a place at the Urban Development Commission (UDC), she was more than happy, simply because she was in a position to help others. She joined UDC as a clerical officer in 1999. When she was sent home from that organisation in 2009, she had already held posts as senior clerk, assistant accountant, and research investigator.
Looking back, she spoke of her love for the job.
“Urban Development taught me that while I thought I was really poor, when I saw the conditions under which others were living, I was not as bad off as they were. As a research investigator I would always write compelling reports so it would force the hand of my boss and individuals would get the help they needed.”
When she was sent home in 2009, it was a trying time for the friendly and caring Natalie.
“It was a very challenging time in my life. I had a mortgage . . . bills to pay, and by that time, I had made it to the University of the West Indies where I was studying social work. There were very dark days, but God brought me through.
“I was unemployed for 18 months. That’s when I realised that when a person is unemployed they are invisible. When you are not working, people don’t want to be bothered with your stress, but God kept me.”
Indeed, there was a silver lining to Natalie’s dilemma, in that she went to university full-time, and gained her degree in social work.
