Guest speakers Rick and Sarah Henwood, from “Love Leads The Way”, Hetty Johnston AM with South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto and his wife Ros

November 25, 2022

Did you know that probably one in three children have been sexually abused by the time they turn 15?

This traumatic statistic was shared by guest speaker Hetty Johnston AM at the South Burnett Mayor’s Charity Christmas lunch on Thursday.

The lunch, held in Kingaroy Town Hall, is a fundraiser to help local families at Christmas, with all ticket sales and raffle proceeds going to local charities for distribution.

Hetty Johnston founded Bravehearts – a support organisation for families whose children have suffered child abuse – in 1996 after her daughter revealed she had been abused by a relative.

Hetty told the diners that many children in local communities were “living on eggshells” as they have histories of abuse.

If this trauma was not resolved, the next time a disaster hits – whether it’s a fire or a flood or a personal disaster – the children simply cannot cope.

Hetty called for resilience training to be included in all schools, to reach traumatised children so they can build resilience.

“Resilience training works … and it’s never too late,” she said.

The other guest speakers at the lunch were Rick and Sarah Henwood, from Nanango, who have founded “Love Leads The Way” to help homeless people in Nanango and Kingaroy.

Sarah said there would be “30 or 40” people living in cars or sleeping rough in Kingaroy on Friday night.

She said many people were just “one unexpected life drama” away from homelessness.

The couple tries to help homeless people by providing shopping vouchers, swags and just sitting and talking.

Sarah said donations to help the homeless could be be left at Nanango Real Estate.

Editor’s note: The guest speakers affected many in the audience. I heard two women – who obviously did not know each other – briefly chatting afterwards. One said Hetty’s talk had stirred up bad memories as she was “one in three”; the other replied “make that two in six – and I was always the one who was blamed”. The level of past trauma in the South Burnett community obviously cannot be over-estimated.

UPDATE: The lunch raised $6771 with all proceeds to be donated to South Burnett families in need by way of food vouchers.

Cr Jane Erkens brought along her bodhrán and “Friends of The Shed” to provide the live music … Jane’s music venue in Nanango, The Shed, regularly features music jams and live performances
Peter and Linda O’May (SBRC) with former councillor Ros Heit, centre, who compered the event
Paul Veivers (Stanwell) with Kingaroy / Nanango Catholic priest Fr Stanley Orji who opened the lunch with a blessing
The Friends of The Shed in full flight on stage
Cheryl Dalton (South Burnett Care) with Cr Kirstie Schumacher
SBRC’s Bree Hunt, Kimberley Donohue and Margie Hams with Cr Gavin Jones
Cheryl and Nev Bischoff, from Nanango, with Danny Summers, Murgon
Cathy Freeman, from SupaIGA Kingaroy, presented Mayor Brett Otto with a cheque for $4150 … IGA was one of the major sponsors of the lunch
A large crowd gathered in the Kingaroy Town Hall for the festive occasion
Wendy Tully, right, with fellow QCWA members serving up lunch … the volunteers came from the Kingaroy, Kumbia and Blackbutt-Yarraman QCWA branches
Mayor Brett Otto, right, presented a small thank you gift to guest speakers Sarah and Rick Henwood, from Nanango
Guest speaker Hetty Johnston detailed the trauma her family went through after her daughter was sexually abused as a child by a relative
QCWA members from Kingaroy, Kumbia and Blackbutt-Yarraman, plus a couple of friends, worked hard in the kitchen and on the food tables

 

One Response to "Sober Statistics Served Up At Lunch"

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.