Australian men are not good at letting anyone see what they’re feeling, especially if times are difficult. They have a tendency to bottle it up and put on a front of ‘She’ll be right mate.’ In a country that has been suffering the effects of drought over several years, incidences of suicide have increased. Perhaps this ‘she’ll be right’ attitude is a lot to blame, as people, and particularly men, struggle to cope on their own. But sometimes that, ‘she’ll be right’ attitude can also be used for good. As we saw in yesterday’s blog, often all it takes is one person to make a difference.
Twelve months ago in the western NSW town of Crookwell, farmers were struggling for survival because of the prolonged drought. In an area renowned for sheep and potatoes, or as we call them in our Aussie slang ‘spuds,’ 2006 was a catastrophe. Rain did not come and farmers who had been hand feeding for years had used up their savings to buy stock. Then things went from bad to worse when the stock prices collapsed. The stock ended up almost worthless.
These were not inexperienced farmers, new to the land, but long time farmers whose family had farmed the land over several generations. And now they could not cope. They had no idea what to do next No wonder they felt like failures.
Seeing the despair on the faces around him, Garry Kadwell and some of his mates organized a special night – a few hours where people could come and enjoy themselves and forget about their troubles and the effects of the drought for a while. He organized a ‘mate’s night’- just a night of fun, with women ringing around the community and passing on the details and community clubs pitching in to provide food and entertainment. Around 600 people came along. Garry asked each person to turn to the person next to them, look right at them, shake their hand and say, ‘We’ll be right, mate’.
One local farmer claims that moment changed his life. He no longer felt alone in his struggles. Since then the drought situation hasn’t improved greatly, but the general attitude of the community has. Farmers no longer feel isolated in their struggle.Now they get together, share their troubles and support each other.
As you look around your neighborhood or community do you see a need that you might be able to do something about. Remember, often all it takes is one person to act then other get on board to help. What is God calling you to do in your community? One person can make a difference, even more so when they have God’s help.
please visit these related blogs