Centralian, NT – Benjamin Quilliam

Drought conditions and extreme dry heat have caused hardship across the Centralian remote area. Bush chaplain, Benjamin had another busy year supporting a community in stress, both on the land and in the towns. There can be few tougher decisions than having to choose which child to send to school, or having to remove children from their boarding school. Yet this is the decision that many farming families have faced this year. As an executive member of the Isolated Children’s Parent’s Association, Benjamin supported research into how drought is declared in the NT to help people access drought assistance and advocated for inclusion of more indigenous families in the ICPA. Benjamin’s ministry has a special focus on supporting youth and children, delivering a Sports Weekend for Bush Kids so they could experience participating in team sports, and also a Muso Magic workshop where the kids created and uploaded their own song to Youtube. Benjamin is also an active supporter of the School of the Air and ran a creche for five days while the tutors gathered at Alice Springs for their annual conference.