Okay, so I work in the Goulburn Valley, and I work in three posts in Seymour through Shepparton to Cobram. The distance between them is about 200km and about a two-hour drive. I live in Shepparton and often have to go to the capital, Melbourne, for meetings and training and study, which is a two-hour drive away. I used to think I work in a large section of the land.
But not any more.
I spoke with Judy today, who works for Frontier Services in Western Australia, in the Pilbara region. This region is about 150 000 square kilometres, or the size of Victoria. She spends most of her time in the car, and would drive 60, 000 kms in a month. It takes me two years to drive that long. She would arrange to visit people in need three days before arriving there. Many families have next-door neighbours a day-long drive away, which means their properties are larger than the State of New York.
John is luckier. He has a pilot licence and a small plane to travel in. He works in the centre of Western Australia, and he says his area is about three times the size of Victoria. He enjoys flying but it makes it harder to drop in and meet people, as he has too arrange for permission to land on air strips. He tells me that due to rising costs of farming/grazing many families cannot afford to hire workers, so a family of four will work on properties as large as Tasmania.
Both deacons also work closely with indigenous communities whose isolation involves lack of access to appropriate health and environmental services, and strive diligently to improve conditions for those who live too far away to get help for what we all need every day.
One evening I ran out of milk and my car battery was flat and I had to walk for forty minutes to the nearest open store.
To find out more about Frontier Services of the Uniting Church in Australia, click here.
