I was so pleasantly surprised when I woke up this morning.
I am not really what you would call a camper, so had half-expected to be eaten by a crocodile in the night. It was such a delight not to have been – could not wipe the smile off my face!
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| Lauren and me: a couple of city gals pretending to be cool as cucumber campers |
I had a swim and pretended it was a shower, then we packed
up and sorted the Lockhart River car out (again!).
Then we headed back to the Michelin starred Archer River Roadhouse for breakfast where we paid
$4.50 for an instant coffee – yikes! Not even the most hipster establishment in
Sydney would dare. They were all out of Sonoma soy and linseed sourdough, so I just had white bread...
After breakfast, we travelled about half an hour up the road
to the Lockhart River turn-off. Here we met with Jim from the Cape York Land
Council, who had flown in to show Matt and Adam around Lockhart and introduce
them to members of the Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) who they will be working
with.
Jim, Matt and Adam headed one way, while the remaining
contingent went in the opposite direction across the Cape to Aurukun on the
West Coast.
When we arrived at the Bauxite Project Office – a
demountable building with guard dogs that will be Lauren and Michael’s home for
the next five weeks – the duo got to work unpacking their truckload of
groceries. Michael in particular is so organised that even though they’re the
most remote, I know they’ll eat better than any of the secondees on this trip!
While I was slightly taken aback by Aurukun, Michael loved it immediately. Let's see if he still feels like this in five weeks:
Vit then gave us a tour of Aurukun, introducing Michael and
Lauren to the principal and teachers at the school where they’ll both be
working delivering Class, Club and Culture. We also met with Uncle Kenlock, an
elder in the community. He and his wife, Aunty Hersey, played a critical role
in launching the Family Income Management program in Aurukun back in 2001.
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| Kenlock and Michael: the start of a beautiful fishing relationship! |
Kenlock and Hersey
In the early days of my bank’s partnership with Jawun,
secondees went to Aurukun to help Cape York Partnerships scope out and launch Family Income Management. The
money management service supported individuals and families to meet their financial
obligations and to direct money away from negative behaviours.
On the first day, Vit headed out into the community to see
what they thought about it. The first person he came across was the building’s
cleaner, Aunty Hersey. He told her about the idea for program and how it could
help her and her family save up for things they need, which she thought was a
pretty good idea.
The following day, she knocked on the door where the
secondees were busy unpacking so they could get to work. She had a $50 note and
said she would like them to help her look after this money. Her son had passed
away and she wanted to save enough money to buy a headstone for his grave. The
secondees, although touched by this raw gesture, were only in the scoping phase
of the project so couldn’t yet help Aunty Hersey save her money.
For the next four weeks, Aunty Hersey knocked on their door with
her $50 note every day asking if they could help her save money.
On the final day, the secondees phoned Vit and explained
that the Family Income Management
program wasn’t up and running yet, but they didn’t want to leave town without
helping Aunty Hersey. Vit set-up an interim arrangement with the local council
to look after Aunty Hersey’s savings account and within six months, she and her
family had saved enough to buy her son’s headstone.
Sweaty Betty PR would have nothing on Aunty Hersey and Uncle
Kenlock. They became Family Income
Management’s unofficial PR team and were integral in getting the Aurukun the
community on the path to financial management.
The twist
Family Income
Management is now incorporated in MPower
which goes beyond merely providing greater access to financial
services and developing financial literacy. It provides a framework for people
to take stock of their situation and make plans for themselves, their children,
their households and their families – and then to start putting their plans
into practice.
In a lovely twist for my bank and Jawun, the Aurukun MPower
office is now run by an ex-Jawun secondee Victoria who gave up her banking job
to live and work remotely improving the lives of Indigenous Australians. She
was so down-to-earth about it but I might start a Victoria fan club…
The second twist
Aunty Hersey sadly passed away last year.
Vit wrote to all previous Jawun secondees to let them know,
and asked if they would like to contribute to Aunty Hersey’s headstone – something
that was obviously so important to her. Their generosity was overwhelming and, together
with my bank’s amazing Matching Gifts program, more than enough was raised for
the headstone. Vit has made all the arrangements for this and it’s now waiting
for the ceremony in Aurukun.
It might not seem like much to you or I, but for Uncle
Kenlock and the family, this is an amazing gesture and they are so touched by
the impact of Jawun in their community and their family.
I felt really proud to
be associated with Jawun.
