Donor story: a matter of trust

The Wilson family’s support for Burnet is built on decades of experience in Papua New Guinea – and confidence in the people leading the work. 

When Audrey and Michael Wilson married, they didn’t have much time for a honeymoon. Instead, just two weeks later, they boarded a plane for Kano in the hot, dry north-east of Nigeria to teach at a boys’ high school. 

“We heard a BBC broadcast saying that Nigeria desperately needed teachers, so we thought, ‘Oh, that would be a good thing to do,’” Audrey recalls. “So, we finished our first year of teaching, and  we trotted off there right after we got married.”

After seven years in Nigeria, and the birth of their first child, the Wilsons traded the arid lands of West Africa for the blue of the Pacific, taking up teaching positions at the University of Papua New Guinea; Michael in education and Audrey 
in chemistry.

“Michael’s old professor from London University contacted us and said, ‘There’s a job that’s just right for you in Port Moresby. Why don’t you go and do that?’ – so we did!” 

For the next two decades, PNG was home – and the couple dedicated themselves to teaching an emerging generation of scientists, teachers and leaders. Along the way, their family of three grew into a family of five. At Port Moresby International High School, the Wilsons’ youngest son, Andrew, befriended a fellow student by the name of Brendan Crabb – now Burnet’s Director and CEO.

“Andrew used to sit beside Brendan and copy his chemistry – or so he tells me,” laughs Audrey. 

Decades later, it was Brendan’s deep, personal understanding of Papua New Guinea that gave Audrey the confidence to become a regular Burnet donor. 

“I trust the people that work at Burnet,” Audrey says. “I trust them to do the things that are really worth doing, for the people that need it.”

After their children finished high school, Audrey and Michael settled in Australia, working at the University of Wollongong until their retirement. Knowing all too well that many PNG families still miss out on the healthcare they need, they recently deepened their commitment to Burnet’s health and research programs supporting women and children in Papua New Guinea.

“We haven’t ever done anything that pays masses of money,” Audrey says. “But giving is just what you do, isn’t it? You can’t live well yourself and not be helping others.”

For the Wilsons, generosity has never been an exceptional choice. It’s just how life should be lived.