After more than 30 years, Ronald Jan is ‘still here’ helping residents

Photo: Ronald Jan

Ronald Jan, Hostel Manager of Nindee Hostel in Adelaide SA, has cared for Aboriginal Hostels Limited (AHL) First Nations residents, and enjoyed a varied AHL career, for more than 30 years and counting.

Ronald has dedicated most of his working life to AHL and instils AHL’s PROUD values on a daily basis, through the work he reliably produces and First Nations people he is committed to supporting.

As one of AHL’s longest serving employees, so much has changed since Ronald started his AHL career, including advancements in technology and streamlining of day-to-day processes.

I remember when I first started with Aboriginal Hostels Limited in 1990, we didn’t have computers to use, we had Revenue Sheets which were hand written and required you to enter all resident details and tariff collections onto large A3 Revenue Sheets.

"We had to ensure that all our paperwork was completed by the Sunday night, so that it was sent off in the overnight post bags and received by the Regional Office on Monday mornings. Now, we just enter everything on the Reservation Management System (RMS) and email it off." Ronald said.

Born in Darwin NT, Ronald has been working for First Nations organisations for more than 40 years.

Ronald has worked at AHL’s Corroboree Hostel (Katherine NT) as an Assistant Hostel Manager and at Silas Roberts Hostel (Darwin NT). He also worked at the Adelaide Regional Office and as a relief Hostel Manager in other hostels in South Australia, before becoming Hostel Manager at the multipurpose Nindee Hostel.

While a lot has changed since the early 1990s when he started working at AHL, Ronald strongly attests that AHL still has an important role in providing affordable accommodation for First Nations people and that it is a great place to work:

The best thing about working for AHL has been the friendships that I have made with people that I have worked with in the NT and SA over the years, and some of these friendships still remain strong to this day.

"Working for AHL is not a boring 9 to 5 job as there is always something happening in the hostels that keeps you busy and occupied." Ronald said.

Since starting with AHL back in the 1990s, Ronald reflects that many of his friends and work colleagues have retired and some have sadly passed away. 

However, Ronald explained that working at AHL over several decades has its rewards, such as getting to see family connections which span generations:

Sometimes I am amazed when a resident comes to stay at Nindee Hostel and you can remember them when they were a young kid with their parents staying at the hostel, and now they are adults returning with their kids.

You always get comments from people that may come back to stay at Nindee Hostel after many years and the first thing they say to you is, “You’re still here.”

It is wonderful to hear of an AHL employee who has exemplified.

AHL’s PROUD values of supporting, growing and empowering others, for more than 30 years – which is an amazing achievement.

"Over the years I try to use my own knowledge, experience, and commonsense in the job and try to be a bit more flexible and diplomatic the older you get." Ronald said.

Whether just starting out, looking to build on an already successful career or seeking a new and rewarding job opportunity, there are many interesting and satisfying roles on offer at AHL.

Information about AHL’s vacant job opportunities can be found on AHL’s Careers page.

Image: Ronald Jan and his AHL colleagues over the years.