I’m not as artistic as everybody else, words are for me. I was at the beginning of the journey so this is my footsteps and how we were kind of nourished at the very beginning, that’s why I’ve put water. And at the beginning it was very diverse, not just in terms of different cultures but different backgrounds, different status. 

 The most important thing was stories.  Way back when the Poverty Truth Commission started, and we were looking at just how it would be presented and how to inspire other people to get involved, the stories were very important because people chose how to tell their own.  They weren’t coaxed or coerced into speaking, they could do it in their own way. And it was incredible, it was an incredible time. 

You’ll see that the birds are going up towards the sun but they’ve not actually reached there yet. The work isn’t finished and you know the Poverty Truth, it always gives people their voice. It’s not about telling people this is what you need to be saying, it’s about people choosing what they want to say.  What is relative to their situation. 

That’s what it’s always about, it’s very much led by the people and very transformative. It’s also very, very empowering, and not just for the people with lived experience - I would call them the experts, but also empowering for people that have not had a clue, people of influence that’s not had a clue about what it’s like to struggle.  

Change has always been big for the Poverty Truth Community. If you take the kinship carers, you know they got a platform because of the Poverty Truth Community, there’s so many, there was mentoring done, so many, different things. 

And I just feel when I come here that it’s like a well-watered garden, that’s what I feel like, it’s always refreshing, you know, even this morning when we had to think about what piece of material, it makes you think and it gives you a bit of memory, and it’s always done with love.