August 30, 2015
The South Burnett played host to some unusual visitors for a short time on Friday night.
Sandra Moran and Jerry Farsoun stopped by Kingaroy’s Memorial Park around 6:00pm to meet the locals, hold an informal BBQ and tell everyone about their mission to try to reduce Australia’s suicide toll.
They were ending their first month of a combined motorcycle and bus ride around Australia that started in St Kilda, Victoria on August 1st.
Since that time they’ve travelled more than 7000km, criss-crossing Victoria, NSW and the ACT.
And they plan to continue their epic journey until they’ve covered the nation.
After their Kingaroy stop-over, the pair and their four-person support crew will be heading to Durong, Chinchilla, Biloela and Gayndah before making their way to Maryborough.
Jerry’s extraordinary 12 year campaign to stop suicide and combat depression stemmed from his own suicide attempt in 1997.
“I was estranged from my mother and bankrupt,” Jerry said.
“Then I found out she had cancer and had just two months to live, and I thought ‘enough is enough’.
“My attempt didn’t work, but it did make me decide that this is my life and I’m going to do what I want with it.”
In 2008, Jerry set up overdownunder.com.au and flew a power-chute around Australia to draw attention to his cause.
The campaign caused a 500 per cent increase to a suicide prevention phone service his group had set up, and convinced him to continue his work.
For this year’s campaign he’s been joined by Sandra Moran, a fellow Victorian whose son Jai committed suicide when he was just 22, leaving his 8 month old baby daughter and fiancee behind.
Sandra is now touring Australia on a Honda CBR 1000 motorbike, along with Jerry and his crew in their custom-built bus which also serves as a home on the road for all six adventurers.
Their trip is fully self-funded, thanks to help from a wide range of sponsors.
Jerry said the main aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about suicide and support services that are available to those who find themselves believing it’s the only way out of their troubles.
“The Australian suicide toll is greater than that of the road toll but it gets significantly less attention and funding to reduce it comparatively,” Jerry said.
The group have also just launched a SmartPhone app designed to help those in need and provide resources to people who are struggling, especially in remote and rural areas.
