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