2 minute read
Around Australia in 28 days – the importance of driving under speed limit
By: Rajni Ghai Malhotra
Meet Mandar ‘Guru’ Tamhankar, owner of Guru Driving School who has recently completed a remarkable journey around the country on a motorbike to mark the 75th anniversary of Indian independence from Britain. His motivation is two fold - to spread the message of road safety by driving under road speed limits and to raise funds to donate to the PM Fund of Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.
Guru has been operating his driving school since 2011 and for the past decade, he has been conducting an annual tour of Sydney for senior citizens for the cost of a dollar and has been recognised for his commitment to serving the community with the ‘Outstanding Community Work Award NSW’ in 2017. Guru embarked upon this journey with the blessings of 100 senior citizens and concluded with a special event to celebrate the completion of this ambitious mission. Speaking at the event that marked the successful completion of Guru’s mission, former local federal MP Mark Latham commended Guru for the massive journey around our country, calling it inspiring.
Guru completed a journey of 20,000kms in 28 days, starting from Sydney, to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Northern Territory, Brisbane, Coffs Harbour, Hornsby and ending at Minto Temple in Campbeltown. Despite a few hitches along the way and running out of blood pressure medication towards the last 1000kms of his journey, Guru remained unfazed and has seen his mission through to the end.
He has raised $6,000 towards the fund besides the admiration of the community for being the first Australian of India origin to have completed a tour of the country on a motorbike.
Raising awareness about Poverty - We are The Voice
By: Anya Malhotra
Anti-Poverty Week (16th – 22nd of October) is a national campaign across Australia to raise awareness of the financial struggles impacting many Australians and to take action collectively to end poverty. Alarmingly, in 8 Australians live below the poverty line.
Did you know:
4In 2020, research by the Australian
Council for Social Services ACOSS found that nearly 3 million Australians live in poverty1 . 4Of that, nearly 774,000 are children. 4In Australia, the poverty line is defined as 50% of the median household income which is about AUD 457 per week for a single adult and AUD 960 for a couple with two children in 2017182 .
How you can get involved:
Poverty exists and it is real, but we can all help in our own way to fight poverty. If you would like to get involved, here are some websites you can go to and choose one of the many ways in which you can contribute towards the fight to eradicate poverty.
References:
1 Poverty in Australia, 2020, ACOSS/ UNSW Report 2 https://antipovertyweek.org.au
