5 minute read
Books
NICKY Mih, Sunshine Coast based author of Do What Matters has a background in psychology, teaching and coaching. But now, she’s a woman on a mission – to prevent children being trafficked into the commercial sex industry, a mission set for her by survivors themselves after she spent a month with them nine years ago.
“I saw terror in the eyes of girls who had just been rescued, I met survivors who had been tortured, I met survivors who were rebuilding their lives. It changed me. It taught me that you can love in an instant. It taught me what real strength was. And it taught me to spend my time doing something that really mattered.”
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Nicky asked these survivors what they wanted and how we could help.
They wanted to end sex slavery. They explained that when girls are rescued from brothels the traffickers don’t go without girls, they just go out into the rural villages and take a new young girl. They wanted these girls to be protected. Not one of the girls Nicky met had been in school when they were trafficked. They believed that if they were in school, they wouldn’t have been trafficked. If they were in school, they would have been safe.
These survivors had identified a gap. There were organisations collaborating with the police on rescue operations, there were aftercare centres and there were legal teams working in the justice system to bring about prosecutions. But Nicky couldn’t find an organisation out in these rural villages specifically identifying these girls before the traffickers did. And so was born Free To Shine, a child protection organisation preventing children being trafficked.
Do What Matters, is a book about courage and achieving the seemingly impossible. It is for people who are ready to step up in their life. Come and meet Nicky Mih at her book signing at Berkelouw Book Barn, Eumundi. Wednesday September 22, 9-11am.
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Great Father’s Day reading
Father’s Day Book review with Hayley Saunders
DARWIN, in the summer of 1963, is hot and heavy with humidity. It’s still a frontier town, full of people hoping for a new start - people with things to hide. It’s also a town full of secrets, racism, violence and corruption.
It’s against this backdrop that we meet Ned, an idealistic policeman, married with a young baby. While out fishing in the wetlands, Ned stumbles across two men who have just discovered a dead body lying face down in the shallow edge of the swamp. The man, Ernie has met a very violent end, beaten and shot twice. When Ned’s boss, Senior Sargent Riley takes over the case and subsequently declares Ernie’s death a suicide, it doesn’t sit well with Ned who, despite being warned off the case, starts to do a bit of investigating. It is when Ned discovers two more bodies in the swamp that the investigation, and Ned’s life, starts to spiral out of control. Ned is torn between his need to see justice, and his need to protect his family, and he faces a difficult battle between his head and his heart, finally turning to drink when it all becomes too much.
In Still, writer Matt Nable paints a vivid picture of a semi-lawless society, where the life of an Aboriginal is worth little and the whites who are sympathetic are viewed with suspicion. It is difficult reading in our current times but seems particularly realistic. The language is harsh, the characters are uncompromising, and the landscape is unforgiving. Still is a fast paced and suspenseful Australian Novel. CROSSING to the other side of the world, and a no-less inhospitable landscape Jeanine Cummins’ latest novel American Dirt tells the story of a bookstore owner, Lydia and her young son, Luca who are forced to flee from their middle-class existence in Acapulco and partake in the perilous journey north through Mexico and into the United States. The novel is shocking, but very matter of fact in its depictions of the extent of the violence and misery in Mexico and other parts of Central and South America that is forcing people to flee from their homes and try to illegally cross the border. From the descriptions of the vast goods trains that the locals call La Bestia, and the many people who attempt to climb aboard and ride the train to the border, to the satellite clusters of assistance groups established along the route to help the migrants on their journeys, to the sheer terror of trying to escape the corrupt and ruthless local immigration agents who are ostensibly there to round up the migrants and send them home, but who are often working for the drug cartels and who can be more dangerous that whatever it is that the migrants are trying to escape, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat with your fingers crossed for a safe and successful outcome. To grab your copy head to Berkelouw Books, Eumundi or order a copy from Little Shop of Soul, Cooroy.
BERKELOUW BOOKS Giveaway!
EUMUNDI ARE GENEROUSLY GIVING AWAY A
COPY OF STILL BY MATT NABLE Send us an email with your name and your postal address to hello@yourlocallifestyle.com.au and you will enter. The winner will be randomly drawn next week and will be notified by return email. Good Luck!
Positive Behaviour for Learning: A Community Approach
NDSHS students are focusing on displaying respectful behaviour by being active citizens in our community.
Expectation Focus: We are Respectful
Support our students by:
Acknowledging their use of respectful language in the community Highlighting the value of respectful behaviour in the community Recognising when they display courtesy, tolerance & inclusivity We are Responsible, Respectful & Active Learners
