My Rural Story

‘There’s a real sense of community out in these rural areas that you don’t get in the city.’

in these rural areas that you don’t get in the city. There’s a genuine care for one another that I’ve never experienced before. Everyone knows each other’s business, but in a good way, they’re looking out for each other. You also get to know people a lot quicker. I only spent two weeks out in Kununurra but I built some incredible relationships whilst out there and I feel like I really had an influence on some people’s lives while I was there, even though I was only there for a short amount of time. And I don’t think that sort of thing happens, or is as likely to happen, in the city as it is out there. What advice would you give to students going on a rural or remote placement? Going out with an awareness that things are very different out there. Resources aren’t as easy to come by as they are here. Everyone knows each other’s business, but in a good way, they’re looking out for each other. In the city we take for granted just being able to walk down to the shops and pick up a newspaper and that sort of thing. But, it’s not like that out there. We have a great understanding of what’s good for us and what’s not

good for us and, in my experience, out there they don’t have that same level of understanding and education. So, I asked kids a simple question like ‘name for me two green vegetables’ they couldn’t name two green vegetables which was quite astounding for me. Again, having an appreciation for education is key. Out in this area the absentee rate is something around 90% so these kids aren’t going to school and they don’t appreciate the importance of education. So I think going out with an open mind and appreciating that there are these differences in these communities is very, very important. What has been one of your best experiences working in these remote communities? My best experience working out in Kununurra is also quite a sad story. We were playing basketball one day with a group of kids. They were all aged between six and 15 and one of the eight

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