The Downs & West Community Support 2024 Dragonfly Retreat

“The retreats are so special,” says farmer, wife and mum-of-four Narelle. “It could mean the difference between someone going into a deep depression or not. It could even save someone’s life. It is that important.”

Narelle lives at the base of the Bunya Mountains, on a farm that grows hay, peanuts, corn, sunflowers and beans.

“People are really struggling financially, there are probably 40 to 50 without homes, people living in tents,” she says. “We’ve had a lot of suicide in this area, in 2010-11 we had a lot of floods, then we had another big lot in 2013.

“We’re in a green drought this year. We’ve had rain but it’s not enough to really help anything. Because we grow a lot of hay, these bits of showers are enough to ruin the hay but not enough to make it grow. So you get knocked around every which way you can.”

Aside from the difficulties of being a farmer – flood, droughts, the cost of living – Narelle is dealing with an enormous amount of stress. Her husband had a stroke three years ago, her adult son is epileptic and living with an intellectual disability, and she is full-time carer to both. She also helps out with her 12 grandchildren.

On top of that, she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, and exhausted from driving back and forth to Toowoomba for treatment. “While the radiation was on, it was every day,” she says, “because I couldn’t stay there; I had to be home for my husband and son.”

It had been five years since Narelle was able to take a break and do something for herself.

Beauty, craft, and peace of mind

The multi-day Dragonfly Wellness through Learning and Creativity Retreat, run by Downs & West Community Support, was the perfect opportunity for Narelle to unwind. Country women from all over gathered at the Bunya Mountains to relax, learn, create and attend health checks – all while sharing their joys and challenges with likeminded women.

“Because we’ve had rain these last few months it was all lovely and green and so much beauty was up there – the birds, the wallabies jumping around,” Narelle describes. “A few people went for early morning walks. They spoke about the peacefulness and tranquillity, then you hear the odd whipbird or mopoke sing out, it was just really special.”

The craft workshops included painting; and making cards, welcome door signs, Advent calendars and paper angels.

“When everybody was in one room together the whole room was laughing, it was just so fun to hear, it just made you feel relaxed and happy yourself,” Narelle says. “The conversations we had… we learnt so much about each other and what we’d all been through. There was all this positivity, support, friendliness, and no judgement.”

Led by Sister Christine Henry and a group of volunteers, the retreat was free for all participants – many who live in rural and remote areas with limited access to adequate health care. At the retreat they were able to have a diabetic assessment, hearing test, Pap smear, one-on-one counselling, and book in a mammogram.

Self-care and connection

“When everybody arrived they had an anxiousness about them,” says Narelle. “Within a couple of hours everybody relaxed and felt at ease. There were women from Bundaberg right down to the NSW border, and doing different types of farming – one had goats, one was on a tomato farm.

“Now I’ve got the numbers and addresses of various new people. There were some there I hadn’t seen for 20 years and we just revamped our friendship, it was like we hadn’t been apart for years. What was also nice was there was such a variance of ages. There were younger ones, right up to one who was almost 80.”

Although Narelle initially felt guilty about leaving her husband and son to attend the retreat – even though she had organised alternative carers – she recognises the importance of prioritising and caring for herself. “We need this, we need to look after ourselves,” she says. “It made me feel fresh to come back and face it all again. This is only a part of our life, we’ll get through this, and it will be better on the other side.”

“It was so important for all those women who went, it showed by the time they left – they didn’t want to leave, they just enjoyed it so much.”

About Downs & West Community Support

Downs & West Community Support offers encouragement, discreet and personalised assistance to farming families and their communities in rural southern Queensland who are severely affected by climatic conditions or family matters beyond their control. It is a ministry of Community Care, which joined the Sisters of Charity Foundation in late 2021. It was previously managed by the Sisters of Charity of Australia Congregation since its inception in 2007.

Downs & West Community Support and the Sisters of Charity Foundation would like to express our deepest thanks to FRRR (Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal) for its $11,000 grant to help run the 2024 Dragonfly Retreat.

More photos from the 2024 Dragonfly Retreat