Children's champions

She is passionate about the health and wellbeing of children and has been instrumental in working with the local Aboriginal Health Services to bring services to Windale. Like a dog with a bone, she doesn’t give up. If it doesn’t work one way she will keep working until she finds a solution.

Ray Smith, also a grandfather, is an old hand. He has been volunteering his time in the Windale community for 30 years, organising sporting teams and events and now running the Rangers program, similar to scouts.

He also co-ordinates the local church soup kitchen, where kids come with their parents for a communal meal, but, with his eye always on the most needy, he is trying to convince the church to extend the program to lone kids.

“We have to reach out and help those who most need it,” says Ray.

With Child Protection Week starting last Saturday, on September 8, if we all made one effort this week, and every week, to reach out to a child in our community or street, what a burgeoning difference that could make.

Not everybody has the time to extend a helping hand. But even changing an attitude to be less judgmental and more supportive, to encourage kids to be the best they can be, goes a long way.

We only need to look at Windale, an example to the rest of us, to see what monumental changes can be made by a community that has children’s interests as a priority.