Opportunity: Doh Doo on the job with Simon Viccars.
JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
THE simple bamboo structures of Doh Doo’s homeland are a far cry from a grand Eastern Beach mansion.
But that’s where the Burmese refugee has found himself after landing a prized painting apprenticeship.
Doh is working with second generation heritage painter and restoration expert Simon Viccars on historic Merchiston Hall after overcoming significant obstacles.
He spent eight years in a crowded and dirty refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border with his family before arriving in Australia.
Averting his eyes, Doh briefly recounted his refugee camp experiences.
“It was like being dead, even though you are alive,” he said quietly.
“I never thought I can be here.”
Despite a background foreign to painting, Doh has taken to the trade with a vengeance, according to Mr Viccars.
“I had him for a week of work experience and that was enough to prompt me to offer him an apprenticeship,” he said.
“He did even the dirty and boring jobs really well without complaining and paid attention to detail.”
The work experience was part of an English as a Second Language course that Doh studied at Gordon Institute of TAFE.
“Working with a second language is very difficult,” Doh admitted.
“I think I pick it up quicker now because I know how we work and what we are doing.”
Mr Viccars considered the course a learning experience for both men.
“At first I had to be careful with my instructions and think a lot more about what I’d say to him,” Mr Viccars said.
Doh, a 22-year-old first-year apprentice, said he saw his future in the painting trade after four years in Australia.
“I want to stick with this job,” he said.
“It is better to work, to support the family. I am the oldest so I have to work.” Mr Viccars said Doh had occasionally opened up to him and second-year apprentice Shannyn Champion about his background.
“But it’s difficult for him given where he’s come from and what he’s been through.
“I can see he’s learned a lot. Safety was something I had to pull him up on and he wasn’t used to taking breaks but he’s getting the hang of it now.”
