the sisterhood
“Ididn’twant
tobeseenasa
failure,”says
Fionabefore
puttingher
handupfor
help.Fionaand
Terrywith
theirkids
Anthony
andEmily.Real life
IRLS AT
unappreciated
farm,ourcommunities;we
worryabouttherenotbeing
foodonthetable,beingable
toaffordschoolshoes.We
shouldera lotandoftencarry
it inside.Weneedtorecognise
theincrediblyvaluablerole
carriedoutbyruralwomen,
ofteninunpaidandunderpaid
family,volunteerand
communityroles.
“I seeit regularlywiththe
womenI workwith– it’svery
muchaboutputtingeveryone
andeverythingelsefirst.That
takesa hugetollemotionally.
“Andif yourpartnertakes
theirownlife,thereis this
hugeguilt.Atthesametime,
they’retryingtopickupthe
piecesoftheirownlives.They
willbetryingtobestaunchfor
theirkids,andtheirfamilies,
andcommunities,allthe
whiletryingtocarryonwith
thebusiness.Thatis often
whentheywillfallintosome
verydeeppits.”
Fiona,52,pointstothe
closureoffacilities,such
asschoolsandbanks,asG POINT
Woman’s Day 37