INTRO: Hi there. In today’s episode, we bring you a special live recording of Colourful Stories featuring community voices from Joondalup and the surrounding suburbs, made possible with funding from the City of Joondalup and training by Centre for Stories. These experiences come from local residents who had never shared their stories in front of a live audience before, but stepped up to the challenge for one special evening to share their belief in the power of connection and community. Set to the theme of ‘Better Together,’ their stories remind us of the strength and value we gain when we overcome individual desires, ego and biases to value unexpected people and places around us. Recorded in the City of Joondalup in March 2024, this next story comes from Rachel Farnay. Enjoy. 

RF: The time that I was loneliest was when I was married. I was in a relationship, but I wasn’t in a relationship. Conversations with my husband would turn into arguments or he would abuse me or control me or just ignore me. It was easier just to not talk to him. Fifteen years of his bad temper were destroying me and my face was etched with pain and sadness. My mum’s real estate agent at the time, a stranger to me, said, “Rachel, you always look so unhappy.” And all I could say was, yes I am. But that’s not who I was. And I didn’t want my young sons to see me this way, and I didn’t want them to think that that’s what marriage looked like. And I knew for survival sake that I had to get out of the marriage. 

So I decided to become a teacher. Teaching’s a good salary for a single mum. You can finish work at three o’clock and you get 12 weeks of holiday. So I knew I’d be able to be at home and look after my young children. So I did my research and I found that teachers are well paid in Perth and they’re in high demand and you can work for as many years as you want, and schools are big, busy places full of people. So there was no chance I was ever get going to get lonely. One of my best friends was a teacher, so I floated my idea to her and she said, “Rachel, you’d make a great teacher. The students will love you.” And her support was all I needed. So I went back to uni and after studying for two years, part-time, I graduated as a teacher specializing in IT and media and STEM, but I couldn’t get a job. So I signed up for relief teaching and within a 25-kilometre radius of my house and I went to some of the toughest schools where the principals were always thrilled when I said I’d come back the next day. Knowing I was going to be okay financially, I finally found the confidence to leave my husband. I thought, okay, I’ve got this. I can do it. And I realized at that point, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 

So I was excited by my new life, a single mother, a teacher, even though it was completely uncharted territory for me. Secretly, I wanted to be like the inspirational teachers in ‘To Sir, With Love’ and ‘Dead Poet Society’. But truth be told, my marriage had left me quite messed up. And with my newfound freedom to party like a rock star whenever I could, I was more like Cameron Diaz’s character in ‘Bad Teacher’. After a year, I did find a full-time job and I threw myself into teaching. I loved the challenge of making exciting lessons grounded in real life. And I loved the funny, sad, sweet things that students said and did. And their energy when they weren’t draining me, lifted me up and made me laugh. I began organizing excursions to conferences and exhibitions to show the students the potential of their future. And after one of these excursions, a boy came up to me and said, “Thank you, 

That was the best day of my life.” Another girl came up to me and said, and gave me a pen, a glitter pen, which I still have, and said, “Thank you for making me sparkle.” I was shocked by my students’ words and I realized I could make a difference. I then found out about Wanneroo Council’s Youth forum and I got 10 students to sign up. And over the course of six months, we met with council members who taught the students leadership skills, and I met with the students every week and we brainstormed ideas on how to solve problems in our community. We had a bit of a rubbish problem at our school. So the students came up with the idea for a recycling day. On this day, they spent more than three hours collecting a dozen garbage bags of secondhand clothing and plastics and batteries and drink containers and electronic waste and even scrap metal, collecting it from the community and saving it from landfill. And it was such a success that we now recycle all our paper and plastic pens and plastic bread tags and plastic tops and drink containers and batteries. And we also have a litter campaign to keep our school clean. 

I then started entering my students in competitions, and one of them was a national competition on ideas for artificial intelligence. And two girls won the state title for their idea of using teddy bears to monitor epileptic fits in babies. About this time, I also started looking at the dusty 3D printers in our lab, and I thought, I really wanna do something exciting with them. So I did some research and I found out that people were using 3D printers to make prosthetic limbs. So I went online and I found the software and the tutorials, and I applied for funding, which I got. And then I ordered the parts and the 3D filament and I said to my year nine students, “Who wants to make two prosthetic hands for some women I know?” And four students volunteered. So over the course of term four, they met with the women and took their measurements and they 3D printed the parts. They assembled the hands, they did some retrofitting. And on the last week of school, they presented these two women with their hands and for making a real difference to the lives of these women, their project took pride of place at the annual showcase. The following year, four students approached me about making hands for two young children. And then the following year, another group of students approached me. And this was a fundamental shift because now students could see that they could make a difference. 

But aside from these fearless, confident students were some who were painfully shy, who never spoke to anyone in class, and I really wanted to do something for them. So at the time, I had been watching ABC’s Old People’s Home for teenagers, and I was really moved by that. So I decided to create my own intergenerational program at the school. So I approached the local retirement village and a group of year nine and 10 students and said, “Do you wanna be part of this pilot project I’m starting?” And they agreed. Beforehand I was really worried that, what if they don’t talk to each other? But I needn’t have worried because on the first day, the students sat down with the residents and began talking to them and were smiling. They had come to life. 

Over the course of the four weeks, they taught the residents how to use their computers and their mobile phones, and they taught them about cyber safety. And the residents taught the students some life skills, like how to write a letter and to post a letter. And they shared with them some of their memorabilia, such as a teapot that has served the queen, a fountain pen, World War I binoculars, and even an 800-page stenographer’s dictionary. By the end of the four weeks, the students were teaching the residents TikTok dances and the residents were teaching the students lawn bowls, and the students had blossomed and come to life and made friends. And age was no barrier. I now run the program twice a year and one boy’s coming back a third time because he finds that teaching the residents technological skills is heartwarming and fun. 

Creating these opportunities for the students to collaborate with the community has really increased their self-esteem and they’ve learned life skills, made incredible memories, and discovered that they can make a difference. And they’ve realized their potential, but they’re not the only ones. Their success in these projects has given me a sense of purpose and given me back my self-worth. Their gratitude and appreciation for the projects has made me feel validated, and it’s their happiness has become my happiness, and they’ve made me realize my potential to make a difference from the pressures and demands of teaching, I feel I’ve been able to make some diamonds. I came to teaching a bit of a mess wanting to save the students, but in reality, I feel the students have saved me. Thank you. 

OUTRO: Thank you for listening to our courageous, brilliant storyteller. The stories we’ve shared today are what drive our organization. Centre for Stories is a small, not-for-profit, relying in part on your support. If you liked these stories today, please let us know by emailing us your thoughts or any feedback you have to info@centerforstories.com or by making a donation at our website centreforstories.com. Big or small, all donations help us to keep sharing these important experiences from our community and support our mission of changing the world through building empathy and connection one story at a time. Thank you.