Three Whittlesea locals have been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours. Tom Ingleton reports.
When Ian Shanks set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2012, he expected a physical challenge – not a life-changing awakening.
But witnessing deep poverty first- hand triggered a shift that would shape the next decade of his life and the lives of thousands more across Africa.
Mr Shanks has been made a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through charitable organisations –recognition of his work as a pharmacist, charity founder, and community leader.
“It was a real shock to be honest,” Mr Shanks said.
“But it’s really a reflection of all the great people I’ve had around me, not just at the pharmacy but the great people I’ve had on the board, on the charities, the volunteers that do all the work too. So I guess from my perspective it’s something that is for all of us and the work we have been able to achieve in the last 13 years since we started.”
Mr Shanks co-founded the Fullife Foundation in 2013 and continues to serve as chief executive and director.
The organisation partners with World Vision Australia, the Birthing Kit Foundation and others to deliver maternal health and clean water to remote parts of Ethiopia and beyond.
“We’ve built a number of health centres and maternal health centres, which mean women can have a safe birth, which has really cut the death rate dramatically,” Mr Shanks said.
The Fullife Foundation was born out of a moment of reckoning.
“I’ve always had an interest in Africa in particular and I’ve supported that through my local church where I could financially,” Mr Shanks said.
“But when I got exposed to serious poverty, it shook me a bit. So I came back and started thinking what we could do about it.”
In addition to his charity work, Mr Shanks has been a pharmacist since 1980 and is director of Fullife Pharmacies in Mill Park, Rivergum and Ulverstone.
His pharmacy career has spanned decades but it’s his passion for helping others that has defined a broader mission.
“We are so blessed in this country, and you don’t know it until you see people that are struggling in real poverty,” Mr Shanks explained.
