Day Eight

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!

 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.

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.