It was the 13th of January 2018 when we received the call that our father had passed away very unexpectedly from a heart attack. Dad was an employee of BHP and a member of Miners’ Promise. It wasn’t until a few weeks after his passing we found out he was a member of Miners’ Promise – an organisation I had heard of but knew really little about. Even though I knew about them from being in the mining business myself, it’s a situation we never thought we would be in. Now we firmly believe we would not be where we are without their support.

For us, three boys in our twenties and living two hours from where Dad lived, the weeks that followed were a complete blur and we had no idea what we would have to do next. Once we were put in touch with a Miners’ Promise Family Support Advisor (FSA), things started to change. 

After a conversation with our Miners’ Promise FSA, we had a clearer idea of what steps we would need to take next. We were put in contact with a legal team from Vitalis Legal to help get things moving and I cannot speak highly enough of the professionalism and knowledge from Müge and her team at Vitalis Legal in assisting us step by step through a process we knew nothing about.

Miners’ Promise also helped move furniture back to our house from Perth and cleaned my Dad’s apartment too which saved us multiple trips to Perth and meant the world to our mother. Those who have been through this situation before know that things move slowly and take months to settle. Although throughout the whole process Miners’ Promise were always in contact with myself and my mother, just to see how we were going or if there was anything they could do.  Even 12 months on, we still receive phone calls and messages to check on us.

Miners’ Promise were also there to support us through the first Anniversary of Dad’s death, which made a great difference. For the Anniversary, Miners’ Promise even made a donation in honour of Dad’s life to Kids Cancer on our behalf which we felt really grateful for.

It’s hard to put into such a short amount of words what Miners’ Promise has done for our family or to explain the impact it had on us. They took such a weight off our shoulders and helped us stay on our feet during the whole process. My mother often mentions how lucky we were to have someone like Miners’ Promise assisting us and thank goodness that dad had this support set up. We would not be where we are today without them and it is something we will never forget and be forever grateful for.

Nathan Van Dijk, son of the Late Andy Van Dijk

Your Family – Our Family