By Aaron Cordy
SHEPPARTON’S flood Recovery team hosted the Beyond the Game event on Sunday, December 15, with a mix of inspirational guest speakers. Local Tones presented AFLW player Tayla Harris, Paralympians Col Pearse and Vanessa Low, and disaster expert David Younger.
Each discussed the different challenges they faced to become the amazing people they are today. Whether it was overcoming life-changing injuries, being the sole young girl wanting to play AFL football in a rugby state or being the only person you know of in Echuca with a prosthetic leg, or being on the ground after a natural disaster, each panellist shared candid and heart-warming stories of overcoming through the aide of community.
The son of dairy farmers, Col Pearse relied heavily on the Echuca community to help him along the way to becoming a Paralympian.
“Being on a dairy farm, we’ve got to look after 535 cows, which means mum, dad, whole family, workers, that’s obviously first priority when it comes to a day-to-day aspect, that’s the priority. And my swimming is second, especially when I’m not on an Australian swim team,” said Col.
“So, everyone around the local community would come and offer to pick me up, to take me to Melbourne and take me to Bendigo for all these swimming competitions when we were too busy with work.
“My career is shaped by the community, and it’s so essential to help me get to where I am.”
Locally we saw this unity with the community during and after the October 2022 floods as Greater Shepparton rallied around each other as best they could under genuinely unique circumstances. While the situation was not perfect, and people fell through the cracks, David Younger emphasised the importance of stronger communities where people are seen and heard for disaster preparedness and recovery.
“The recovery during and after a disaster is often a really tough one and a really long one, which unless you’ve had the experience before, or unless you’re actually going through it, you don’t know what it involves. And so very quickly, people who are having a real-life experience can feel extremely forgotten. And so having their voice heard and hearing their needs is absolutely crucial,” said David.
As the Greater Shepparton community continues to move forward after the October 2022 floods and faces the next challenge life brings, hopefully, the lessons have been learnt and we can build a more resilient community for everyone.
