I was born and raised in Biloela, Queensland. A lot of people know about Biloela. A town where in 2018 a defenceless family was taken against their will all because of a mistake. With this the Home to Bilo campaign was born. A campaign to bring this family back to the community, their home and their chosen family. Throughout the entire Home to Bilo Campaign I noticed that the women of Biloela were the driving force. They organised meetings, they phoned the family, they drafted letters to parliament, and they put the needs of this family way above their own. I watched these women fight with everything they had to bring back a part of our community that was lost and they never once thought to give up. I watched Bronwyn Dendle, a mother in my school community, run for a seat in state parliament, just to put herself in a position where she could really make a change. I watched these women pour over legislation and laws in order to help a family, who couldn’t help themselves in this campaign and these individuals really showed me how women and non-binary leaders in the community inspire people to make change. These women in my community inspire me to make a difference in the world. They show a caring heart, and a loving hand can help achieve great things. These leaders also inspire me to make a difference to my five sisters, to show them that they too can make a difference, no matter what their dreams and aspirations are. I personally believe that the perseverance that women can show in the face of adversity is simply remarkable. 

These female and non-binary leaders work harder than most of us can imagine. Putting others before themselves repeatedly. They think about how their decisions affect others and they continuously work hard to see change in our community. Living in such a small town it can be easy to just ‘roll over’ and ‘let things happen’ due to fear of what others will think and say, however these leaders work, day in and day out. Not worrying about what others think or say but worrying about others’ well being. That’s what inspires me to make a change in the community, or even make a difference in the world. 

I want to be like these women. The women who work, day in and day out. Worrying if someone else has eaten before even thinking about food themselves. Exhausting themselves to find every possible angle to help someone in need, even after people told them it’s impossible. 

I believe that that is what the world needs. We need women to lend a hand, touch a heart and believe that we can do anything.