Author: humansingeelong

At the tender age of 31 years, surrounded by her loving family and friends, Katrina Louise Wakeling (nee Hastings) died in December 2009. Katrina had suffered a sudden and totally unexpected stroke during the night and despite every attempt to save her, Katrina left this world leaving behind her devastated family, friends, beloved soul-mate husband Lachlan and their adored 4-month-old son Lewis.

Driven by grief, Katrina’s Sparkle was founded by 15 of Katrina’s family and friends as a legacy to the life she lived – one of laughter, fun, passion, adventure, travel, integrity, profound love of family and a deep professional concern for the wellbeing and safety of others.

I found out more from her brother Simon who tells me the Foundation is now more purpose driven. Here is an insight of our conversation.

“She was my best mate, only 18 months older than me. I was about to commence study to become a paramedic at the time. Her passing meant we took on a lot of responsibility for Lewis. This was a steep and confronting learning curve for me as I had little experience caring for young babies.

Continue reading “K’Sparkle” →

We’re all invited to the reopening of the Highton Library, Monday 23^rd December at 10am. PLEASE SHARE. The library has been refurbished and we’re all invited to the celebration. You may recall the fight to save Highton Library, which we posted about on May 7, 2017. https://humansingeelong.com/2017/05/07/save-our-library/

Three small libraries in our region were under threat of being closed; the Highton, Chilwell and Barwon Heads Libraries. It was the action of our community that saved these libraries. There were rallies, letters written, a media campaign and visits to Council meetings. The group voiced the need for these local services.

We love the quote “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” By Margaret Mead. This quote is also used by local action group Geelong Sustainability.

We hope to see you all there.

Information and photo: Jacqui Bennett

“Being in a place so long, it will be very hard to leave but I feel the time is right – despite a few students saying ‘No, come back for another year’. I’m tired and the ever-changing demands placed on teachers by the Department make it difficult to just do what most of us love doing – being in the classroom, shaping the lives of young people. I will miss the staff and other community contacts, I will miss my car-pooling buddies, but most of all, I will miss the kids.”

Julie Elkin sees the conclusion of her working career as she moves into retirement at the end of the year. Born and raised in Geelong West, Julie went to Bell Park High School (now Western Heights), went to Uni in Melbourne and returned to Geelong to start teaching.  An employee of the Department of Education for close to 41 years, Julie has spent two thirds of her teaching career at North Geelong Secondary College, beginning in 1979. Julie’s life was not always in the classroom. Add a dairy farmer to the mix. “I found that really interesting but demanding work. The scientific part of managing the growing of the pastures, the irrigation techniques and the feeding in the bail to maximise production appealed to me. The getting up early and hosing down the yards in the middle of winter with frozen water in the pipes, not so much!”

Continue reading “Julie Elkin.” →

They’ve done it! They’ve arrived in Perth. The Crossin the Bor team of 12 Deakin Geelong medical students, have ridden bikes 3,500km for 16 days across the unforgiving, mind-numbing Nullarbor. They’ve raised awareness of mental health issues and raised $50k for the Black Dog Institute. Here is the story of one of their riders.

“I am fortunate to say that I have fought and survived depression. My hardest years we’re in my late teens. A time that I was still finding my voice and identity. So, I struggled in silence with an illness that I did not have words to describe, hiding my suffering from my friends and family until I was saved by my Mum.

“The ride to me is a way of creating a story of understanding and compassion around mental illness to replace the stigma and silent suffering that have prevailed for far too long. I hope our ride gives those suffering in silence, or those worried about a loved one, the words or a reason to reach out.” @olilegrouse

Continue reading “Crossin the Bor, update.” →

Club La Vida Salsa Inc had the pleasure of volunteering their time to dance for the amazing Geelong Mums’ volunteers end of year celebration which was held at Cockies Brewery in South Geelong.

On the 28^th of November Geelong Mums posted “259. That’s the number of babies and children in the Geelong region on our waitlist who need support before Christmas. 25 babies don’t have a safe cot to sleep in.

One of the babies on the list was due to be born early December. “His Mum escaped a violent relationship, fleeing to her parents’ home. When they found she was having a baby, they kicked her out. She’s since found a place to live and all she wants to do is set up a safe place for him. But she’s struggling to buy food and pay the electricity bill, let alone buy nursery equipment, new or second-hand.”

Continue reading “Club La Vida Salsa dance for Geelong Mums.” →

It’s a place filled with youthful enthusiasm. A place buzzing with conversation. A place of teaching and learning. A room where smiles are frequent, and engagement is high.
This is the Homework Club at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Corio.

“It’s inspirational seeing the energy between the young people learning and the confidence that grows between them.” Jillian Giddings is the Co-ordinator of the Homework Club, a local parish initiative which runs in partnership with Anglicare Victoria, Geelong Grammar and Kardinia International College. The club has been operating since 2010 and still has a strong membership.

Local Grade 5 to Year 12 students for whom English is an additional language, attend Homework Club after school once or twice a week with the common purpose of improving their English literacy skills.  Many are refugees from countries such as Mayanmar (formerly Burma), Iran, Thailand, Afghanistan and Sudan; some born in refugee camps, others born in Australia.  Jillian explains that the Homework Club is important to the students for many reasons.  “We forget sometimes that these children are coming from traumatic circumstances, so their emotional well-being is our first priority, and the learning comes second.”

Continue reading “Homework Club at St Andrew’s Anglican Church Corio” →

“One day I went to a local petrol station to buy some water and soft drink for guests at my parents’ house. It was 7pm. As my friends and I came to the front door, the owner locked the door. There are people that will judge other people based on their appearance. This experience made me stop wearing hoodies, especially at night time.”

Fiston Baraka is a 19 year old music artist and creative thinker who lives in Corio. Born in the Congo, Fiston and his parents spent their lives moving and relocating due to the wars in the country. For seven years, he stayed at a camp called Lusaka in Zambia, south of the Congo. His parents applied to UNHCR, and after some years moved to Australia. Fiston and his family have lived in Australia for 10 years.

“It has certainly been a spiritual journey. I can’t describe the feeling of being accepted in Australia, learning a new language, and meeting new people from new cultures. I was introduced to AFL, a sport I’d never heard of. I lived close to a football club, and the coach asked me to have a go. From then on, I have played for the Bell Park Dragons and Anglesea Football Club. I am a short person. That is not good in AFL. But I use this challenge and turn it into a strength. Height isn’t the problem, it’s the attitude about height.

Continue reading “Fiston Baraka.” →

While Mary De Garis was only one woman, she managed to positively affect a vast number of  women and children, in early 20thC Australia. She was Geelong’s first woman doctor , a fearless war surgeon and writer who advanced the path of women into the medical profession.

Mary was the 31^st woman to graduate in medicine in Victoria. She worked in outback hospitals as a surgeon prior to 1910 – in Muttaburra, Qld and Tibooburra, NSW and travelled solo around the world, witnessing suffragette marches in London and the USA.

With World War 1, she tried to enlist for war service but was rejected by the army – only nurses could enlist. But Mary and 25 other women doctors did serve in the war – independently with voluntary organisations such as the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, under the allied armies  of Serbia, France, Belgium and Russia.

Continue reading “Dr Mary De Garis, Herstory. By Ruth Lee.” →

‘Disco disruption’ this Friday Dec 6^th starting at the Mall at 4.30pm, all welcome! We welcome climate activists and concerned citizens from all around the Geelong region. The aim is to draw attention to the climate and ecological emergency.

DISCObedience was started by extinction rebellion in Melbourne, said organizer, Erica Hunt who is a member of the Geelong-based rebels, Extinction Rebellion. “Since then it has spawned high-impact civil disobedience actions in Britain and other cities around the world, and now it’s coming to Geelong.”

Continue reading “DISCObedience.” →

Thanks Stu and 135A Grill’d Pakington Street for having Humans in Geelong on a fundraising jar for December. Grill’d give back to the community every month by giving three local groups the opportunity to raise either $300 (top token scoring group) or $100 for the two runners up. Customers pop their tokens in the jar of their choice and everyone is a winner; thanks to healthy hamburgers, huge section on sustainability on their website, supporting a local business and supporting great local causes.