City schoolkids give ‘country cousins’ a helping hand

Sydney
15 December 2002

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City schoolkids give ‘country cousins’ a helping hand

By Damir Govorcin

“It has given our school community spirit and hope,” says Elizabeth Coffey, principal of St Mary’s primary school in the far-south-western NSW town of Hay.

“Their incredible gesture has blown us all away.”

As drought grips country NSW, communities like Hay are facing a tough time this Christmas.

Three schools in the Parramatta diocese – Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville, Holy Trinity, Granville, and Marian College, Kenthurst – have ‘adopted’ St Mary’s in its time of need.

They have given up the opportunity to receive free books in the Daily Telegraph’s Free Books for Schoolspromotion by donating their tokens to St Mary’s.

As a result, the Hay school was able to amass 9700 tokens and order more than 50 new books for its library and classrooms.

Students at Our Lady of the Rosary then held a mufti day they called “Hay Day”. The kids donned cowboy hats, participated in line dancing and generally had fun in a day that raised $1000 for the Hay school.

Mrs Coffey says: “The money and the book tokens are something we have already used and put into good effect.

“Just to know that our ‘city cousins’ care about us is so heartening, and this is vital in counteracting the insidious and disheartening effects of stress.

“To the school communities at Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville, Holy Trinity, Granville, and Marian College, Kenthurst, you have really helped us in more ways than just book tokens and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Many families in the Hay district and elsewhere in the vast Wilcannia-Forbes diocese are struggling financially.

And the situation is expected to reach crisis level next year.

The St Vincent de Paul Society will have its resources stretched to the limit, offering financial and emotional support.

“In Hay, families are just surviving at the moment,” says Mrs Coffey.

“This year I think we will be OK, but next year will be crunch time.

“Farmers won’t have a crop to sell next year, meaning they will have no income.

“Teachers and people with jobs in Government offices will be the only ones making a salary, and will have to keep the school and community afloat.”

Pat Mervin, principal of Our Lady of the Rosary, says it’s the duty of every school community in Sydney to help out its ‘country cousins’.

Our Lady of the Rosary has already given money, a public address system and teacher resources books to the Hay school.

“We are fortunate that our school is well-resourced, so we are in a position to help a school like St Mary’s through a difficult time,” says Mrs Mervin.

“I think the drought has helped our students realise how lucky they are.

“They know other children are doing it tough and they want to help them out anyway they can.”