Wellbeing

JOY IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY.

Welcome back to term 4! I hope that the holidays brought some rest, quality time with your kids and hopefully some joy. I know school holidays can also bring some exhaustion, expense and challenges. This week I celebrate my 1 year anniversary here at BPS! I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this community and I thank everyone including the students, families and staff for helping me feel at home. I have learnt so much and count it a privilege to be a part of the BPS community.

Over the school holidays I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines with my daughter Caitlyn (16yrs old) and 20 other people, including Phil Simpson a previous BPS chaplain. The purpose of the trip was to spend time in different communities, working alongside local staff and volunteers who run a variety of programs, including; feeding programs in slum areas, children's homes, birthing clinic, school, accommodation for young girls experiencing a crisis pregnancy, sports programs etc.  

There were many things that impacted me during this trip, however, the consistent thing that stood out was the attitude of the people. They were hardworking, resourceful, polite, genuine, grateful and joyful. Despite the circumstances they faced people just didn't give up! In one slum area a fire had destroyed many homes, whilst our team was present we saw many people from the community working hard with limited resources to try and clean up the damage and build new shelters. Whilst working in the birthing clinic I sadly sat with two women who had experienced a miscarriage, one of whom lives under a bridge with her husband and toddler. The head midwife was able to access supports from the local community to transport them to hospital, to fund the procedures and after care needs and provide emotional support. These two women were strangers before this tragic event, however, have now become friends and support one another.

On return from our trip my daughter stated, "we can't keep acting like normal, things have changed now, we have  to do something". What she meant was that now we have seen first hand the huge challenges others experience, we need to be a part of the solution. Her comment challenged me about how can we operate differently. At a minimum I can ensure I have a grateful attitude, I can raise awareness and figure out practical ways to assist. It was a privilege to be a part of the trip and to be able to experience everything with my daughter. To be reminded about the many blessings we have is a good thing, I hope all of us remember not to take it for granted, to look for ways to support others in need.

Please feel free to make contact with me if you or your child would appreciate someone to listen and provide support. This term I am working an extra day a week (Tuesday's).

My email address is lisa.osborne@education.vic.gov.au