The Queensland Floods. Never before in Queensland’s history have we witnessed an event of this scale. 500,000 square kilometres of Queensland, 86 towns and cities, 2 million people living in areas declared disaster zones. This isn’t what we expect in our Sunshine State.
It was just one day after the floods hit Brisbane and Ipswich that John Paul College received an overwhelming response from the school community to help anyone who was directly or indirectly affected by the disaster. It was then that John Paul College decided to hold its own Community Flood Relief to assist others in getting back on their feet. We watched with awe and heartbreak, the destruction the recent floods had throughout South East Queensland. Many families saw firsthand what devastation a wall of water can bring, taking their homes, possessions, and even loved ones. But it is during such heartbreak and devastation that John Paul College as a community came together to help.
John Paul College held its own Community Flood Relief, participating in two projects to assist others in getting back on their feet.
The donation drive...
It will take years to recover from the emotional damage caused by the recent devastating floods, but Ipswich East State School was given a very big helping hand by the John Paul College community in February, when students and staff from the College distributed much needed items to flood affected families.
As one of the worst affected schools in the East Ipswich area, Ipswich East State School lost 7 classrooms and countless educational resources to the floods. More importantly, 200 Ipswich East students lost their homes or all of their belongings. With 37% of Ipswich East State School students badly affected by the floods, and areas in the Lockyer Valley already inundated with donations, Ipswich East State School was the chosen place for the John Paul College Community Flood Relief.
The College collected hundreds of donations from the school community, filling a semi-trailer with supplies, food, school resources and household goods. John Paul College staff, Captains and Vice Captains travelled to East Ipswich to distribute the collected items to a huge crowd of parents and students, many of whom have lost everything and are still homeless. The Ipswich East community were overwhelmed by the amount of donations we had, and we continued to source items for desperate families, such as a fridge for a mother of 5 who was using an esky to hold her food. We also put on a BBQ breakfast, making sure that everyone had a full stomach before a big day at school.
But it was the smiles on the kids’ faces that made a real impact all of us involved. We hope that by assisting families that have been hard hit by the floods, children from Ipswich East State School can make a positive adjustment and their families can be strengthened in some way by adversity. Our Flood Relief efforts were captured by Channel 7’s Sunrise this morning, giving focus to the need that is still out there for flood assistance and the rebuilding of homes. WATCH NOW
The College also delivered much needed school resources, table, chairs and computers to Rocklea State School, who were also devastated by the floods. Our truck even got bogged at the school, which was still cleaning up after the floods! Our Community Flood Relief continued, with the rebuilding of a home for a young family in Bellbowrie.
Making a difference...
Zoe and Martin Pearn lost their home and most of their possessions in the floods on Wednesday 12 January 2011. The water came to a foot below the ceilings. After days of inundation, isolation and grief, the Pearn family returned to their ruined home at Bellbowrie, in one of the hardest hit streets in Brisbane.
In the days following the flood, a large rubbish tip grew in Lions Park at the end of their street, where army trucks dumped load after load of sodden furniture and household goods. In the weeks to follow, their home was stripped bare, removing the mud-soaked plasterboard and brand new kitchen, installed just weeks earlier.
Throughout March, John Paul College, alongside a bevy of contractors and tradesmen, donated time, materials, labour and expertise to help the Pearn family who have been left destitute by the recent flooding, refitting their house with newly painted walls, furniture and fittings, and household items. As the rebuilding came to an end, the John Paul College family participated in a Walkathon to raise money to purchase much needed household items to make it a home.
John Paul College has been blessed to not be affected by the floods and rebuilding a home for this young family is well within our capabilities as a school community. The selfless acts of the College staff, students and families has illustrated the unity of the John Paul College community and we are blessed that we can continue to provide support to those affected. 2011 is a year of appreciation, generosity and unity for the John Paul College community and we look forward to helping those who have been affected.
Bound together in unity...
With several families and staff living in affected areas, the John Paul College community banded together to provide assistance. Staff from the Development Office worked tirelessly in New Farm, West End and the Brisbane CBD, shifting furniture to higher ground, organising sandbag levees, moving cars out of flood affected areas and evacuating people in these areas.
It was just one day after the floods hit Brisbane and Ipswich that John Paul College received an overwhelming response from the school community to help anyone who was directly or indirectly affected by the disaster. Members of the John Paul College First XI Cricket team, Open Basketball teams, Rugby teams, Property Operations, Works Department, College staff and families all pitched in assisting with the arduous clean up of foul mud left in and around homes and businesses, and providing much-needed equipment and supplies for volunteers.
Cricket Director, Andre Burger, loaded the First XI Cricket team into the John Paul College mini bus to assist with cleaning at West End all day Saturday, before the team flew out on Sunday to Ballarat to compete in the Victorian Schools Cricket Competition. Families and students from the boys and girls Open Basketball teams were led by Head of Senior School, Peter Foster, and Coach, Jeff Henderson, with the clean-up of various homes and businesses at West End and the Basketball Stadium at Auchenflower, which was totally inundated. They were assisted by the Head of Primary School, Norm Kerley and his wife. Under the leadership of Rugby Coach, Tim Tavalea, members of JPC Rugby also joined the mud army at hard-hit areas, Gailes and Moggill.
Shane Howard and his Property Operations team assisted with clean-ups throughout the Ipswich area, in particular Barellan Point, over four days. They provided a centralised catering, medical and equipment area for volunteers over the long weekend and John Paul’s fire hose equipment was put to good use cleaning houses and streets. The Works Department at the College, under Lucas Gilroy, got into the spirit setting up a local medical clinic at his personal residence for the isolated community of Moggill and organised such things as generators for mobile cool rooms to revive the Rocklea markets. Staff member, Carolyn Wilson, and Director of Kindergarten, Leanne Zammit, volunteered to help with the children’s programs at St Aiden’s School at Corinda stating that “sometimes when we think that there is nothing we can do, or we feel helpless, along come children, who really need us!”
This is well within our capabilities as a school community and has complete support from Headmaster, Warren Peat, who while in New Zealand was keen for John Paul College to assist with the clean-up and made allowances for staff who were directly affected by the floods.