As the shadow minister for communities, disability services and seniors and state member for Moggill, I rise to inform the House of a recent event held at
the Queensland parliament on behalf of Droplets in a Stream. DIAS is an Australian charity that works in Uganda and Kenya to support local in-country non-government organisations, all of which focus on supporting vulnerable children. Due to extreme poverty, lack of primary health care, restricted access to basic services and in some cases traumatic abuse, many children become trapped in a cycle of poverty. Droplets in a Stream and associated in-country partners work tirelessly to assist those children and provide many of the services that we here in Queensland and Australia take for granted. DIAS was established by Mr Rodney Callanan and a number of other local Moggill constituents who remain actively involved. Over the past 12 years Rod Callanan has worked tirelessly to ensure that DIAS operations and that of its partner organisations continue to support many disadvantaged children across Central Africa. Currently, Droplets in a Stream is involved in multiple transformational projects, including the construction of an early childhood development centre in Kenya to house abandoned and orphaned infants; a feeding program for over 250 street children in a village in Kenya; the development of a rehabilitation centre in Uganda to house children who are victims of abuse; and the construction of a nursery and primary school in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
It was a pleasure to hear about those achievements and so many more, along with the address of keynote speaker for the event, Mr Peter Michael Sewakiryanga. Peter shared his personal story about his experiences with those who have experienced childhood abuse and disadvantage and further highlighted the importance of the work of Droplets in a Stream across Central Africa. All of us in attendance were shocked to learn of some of the draconian and harmful practices employed in parts of Africa. Peter impressed upon the room his belief that DIAS and its future development would help hundreds more children out of poverty and abusive situations. His was a moving and powerful message.
I thank Peter for his attendance and bravery in sharing his personal story. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to host the Droplets in a Stream event. I reiterate my thanks to Rod and the team at DIAS for all of their hard work. I express my appreciation to South African Airways and Virgin Australia for their assistance in arranging transport and to Mater urologist Dr David Winkle for his incredible clinical work. I thank my assistant electorate officer, Thomas Cunningham, for his hard work and professionalism in pulling together the event and ensuring that it was a great success on the day. Well done to all involved, including individual supporters and sponsors. I look forward to continuing to assist the work of Droplets in a Stream into the future.
With it being State Education Week and World Teachers’ Day tomorrow, I take this opportunity to congratulate and acknowledge all local teachers in the electorate of Moggill and across Queensland.
The principals of the 11 schools in the electorate of Moggill are a credit to the teaching profession in