As we celebrate Harmony Week and the theme of 'everyone belongs', this story from Alicia reminds us that volunteering and connecting with people from different backgrounds can bring hope and meaning and indeed be life-changing.

As part of their journey to Kenya to commemorate a century of Salvation Army service in the country, world leaders General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham returned to Nairobi from the Kenya West Territory and continued the celebrations in the Kenya East Territory from 26 February. Their itinerary included visits to special needs schools in Thika town, Officers’ Councils and rallies and celebration meetings at Ulinzi Sports Complex. A highlight of their visit was the Centennial Women’s Ministries Rally on 2 March. Led by Colonel Anne Kiama, Territorial President of Women’s Ministries, the rally was “a vibrant tapestry of music, prayer and empowerment,” wrote Baraka Mutisya, Assistant Editor of War Cry in the territory. “Simultaneously, the men’s rally echoed with fervent prayers and impassioned calls to action by Territorial Commander Colonel Daniel Kiama.” 250 enrolments Thousands gathered for the holiness meeting, march-past and celebration on 3 March, the pinnacle of the centenary celebrations. General Buckingham enrolled almost 250 new soldiers and then delivered a stirring message of hope and renewal. “The presence of guests, including Kenyan President Dr William Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, underscored the significance of the occasion,” wrote Baraka. “President Ruto’s heartfelt address resonated with themes of unity, compassion and service, reaffirming the government’s commitment to supporting organisations like The Salvation Army in its mission to uplift the nation. “For a century, through trials and triumphs, The Salvation Army has remained a beacon of hope, illuminating the path to a brighter, more compassionate world.” To read the full story, click here.

BY DEAN SIMPSON Major Darren Kingston is passionate about prayer – and he is adamant that the general public generally wants to be prayed for. He should know. He’s prayed with thousands of people during his officership, mostly people on the streets. “You might not believe it, but when you ask someone – anyone – if they’d like some prayer, most will say yes,” Darren says. Proof, he says, is his experience praying for people in shopping centres, at community events and anywhere the spirit leads him. “I’ve seen people converted, people healed, people restored in relationships, and people just thankful that someone wants to pray for them,” Darren says. “People do like The Salvation Army. They know we do good things in the community and most people know we are a Christian organisation – so they trust us.” Darren is a Team Member at Macquarie Fields Salvos and loves nothing better than getting involved in the community. Ingleburn Alive He was at it again over the weekend, participating in the Prayer Tent ministry at the annual Ingleburn Alive festival in Sydney’s south-west. It was the second successive year that members of Macquarie Fields Salvos have set up the Prayer Tent, which also offers free bottles of water, sunscreen and a chat. Thousands of people flock to the Ingleburn Alive ‘street party’ festival each year for live music, carnival rides, food and market stalls. “We had a great day,” Darren says. “Last year was the first time we had the Prayer Tent, and it went so well that we decided to apply again ... and the organisers said yes. “We prayed for a grieving lady, a lady with mental health, prayed for people’s families, men with anxiety, a guy seeking direction, a Muslim man seeking joy, four teenagers and a child needing prayer for their exams. “We also saw Jesus heal bladders, bloating, arthritis, knees, a broken arm, a foot complaint and an ulcer. Praise God!” Fairfield ‘on fire’ About 20km up the road is Fairfield Salvos, and they have also adopted the Prayer Tent ministry under the leadership of Auxiliary-Lieutenants Katharine and Russell Brown. Darren often joins the Fairfield Prayer Tent during outreaches. The Browns and their team were also in action over the weekend at the popular Fairfield Markets at Fairfield Showground. Russell was equally enthused about their experience of praying for people. “Isn’t Jesus awesome!” he says. “We prayed for healing of leg for a man from a Buddhist background, prayed for a lady selling crystals and she encountered Jesus’ love, have spoken words of encouragement over a mother and her kids and she wants to come to an ‘encounter night’ at the corps.” Darren said he would love to expand the Prayer Tent ministry to include other community events. “It’s such a simple ministry to set up but it can have a lifelong impact on the people we pray for,” he says. “Wouldn’t it be great if every corps out there had a prayer tent that they set up at markets or community events on a regular basis? “We’d really see an impact for the Kingdom then!” Do you like to pray? Then please join The Salvation Army’s Year of Prayer campaign #salvosprayingtogether. To find out all you need to know about our Year of Prayer, just click on the following links or copy and paste them into your browser: My Salvos - https://my.salvos.org.au/a-year-of-prayer/ Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/tsayearofprayer?mibextid=LQQJ4d Or contact Aux-Lieutenant Rosy Keane at rosy.keane@salvationarmy.org.au

BY LAUREN MARTIN Salvationists at Wagga Wagga in southern NSW are spoiled for choice when it comes to connecting with God. The corps has a variety of church expressions that run throughout the week. “We try to do something every day that is an expression of church,” says Auxiliary-Lieutenant David Hopewell. This involves the gathered worshipping community that meets on Sunday mornings, as well as various community outreach groups, ministries and missional activities. “Each one of them is an expression of church.” Salvos Store Community Table On Tuesdays, the local Wagga Wagga Salvos Store is transformed into a meeting place for up to 20 shoppers who like to sit down, have a cuppa, and discuss the ‘big question of the day’. Auxiliary-Lieutenant Val Hopewell calls it a ‘community table’, and everyone is invited to sit down at the row of three long trestle tables that Salvos Stores staff help set up every week to accommodate the group. The tables run right through the centre of the store, making it easy for shoppers to join in the fun and conversation and make new friends. “We use The Salvation Army’s ‘Pass the Salt’ [conversation] cards and also do colouring-in,” she says. “We have colouring cards with a psalm printed on them that people can take home and put on their fridge or somewhere.” The ‘Pass the Salt’ conversation cards have questions about life, faith, the world around us and relationships. Each week, Val chooses one to be the ‘big question of the day’, and that sets the direction for meaningful conversations. The community table comprises community members and some members of the corps. As relationships have deepened with regular attendees, there have been conversations about faith, prayer and following Jesus. Some people from the weekly Community Table have also started coming to the Sunday gathered worshipping community. Men’s fellowships On Thursdays a local coffee shop is the location for church. David runs a men’s group where “we talk about life and support each other,” he says. It started with just three men and has grown to eight regulars. Topics include health issues, grief issues and changes in circumstances. Listening and prayer are at the heart of this expression of church. Running a men’s breakfast ministry had also been on David’s heart, but he struggled to find the time or volunteer resources to start it. “Then, one of the guys from Generosity Church here in Wagga contacted me and said, ‘We have a men’s breakfast. Do you want to join us?’” Now, many men from Wagga Wagga Salvos, including David, attend the Generosity Church Men’s Breakfast ministry, and from that, friendships have been formed and social activities planned like motor-biking and camping. “It’s great!” says David. Prayer a central pillar The corps’ Home League is made up of “prolific prayer warriors”, says Val, “who raise funds for mission and are a close support to one another in good and challenging days.” A Tuesday night Conversational Prayer Meeting at the corps is also well attended. Various prayer resources are used, and those who attend pray for prayer requests left in the prayer boxes at the local Salvos Store and Doorways Centre. And on the last week of the month, the corps’ meeting is a meeting of ‘huddles’ (discipleship groups), and on the alternate month, the theme is ‘Open House’, which Val says is “fellowship, food and fun with a 4pm start and a shared meal and casual focus so people can invite friends.” It’s all about connecting Being intentional about building strong connections and having meaningful conversations is the key difference between running a community group and facilitating a space where people can encounter Jesus. “Even our Mainly Music Group,” says David, “that’s their church,” he says of the people who attend. The Wagga Wagga Salvos Street Outreach Ministry connects with people experiencing homelessness and hardship at various locations during its night-time food run. “That’s their church,” says David, about the hot cuppa and intentional chats and prayers that are shared every week during that ministry. Such strong relationships have been formed in the four years since the outreach started that the team plans to expand the service to two nights per week “and maybe set up our new food trailer in the corps carpark one night a week for a sit-down meal.” The different expressions of church at Wagga Wagga Salvos are a beautiful example of The Salvation Army being the missional movement that God raised it up to be when William Booth walked out of his Methodist Church building to create a new church of inclusion. Wagga Wagga Salvation Army is the body of Christ, active in the community, partnering with others, and sharing life, love and Jesus.

The Salvation Army Australia Museum participated in the Melbourne book launch of Sir Bruce Small – from Malvern Star to Mr Gold Coast at the invitation of the tome’s author, journalist Rachel Syers. Sir Bruce, a former long-term member of the Melbourne Staff Band and the son of Salvation Army officers, was a famous philanthropist, business mogul, sporting personality (as the manager of global cycling superstar Sir Hubert Opperman), politician, land developer and the visionary who established Queensland’s Gold Coast as a tourism mecca. The launch was held in the Melbourne Cricket Ground, at the MCC Library, on Wednesday afternoon 13 March. Introducing the museum’s assistant manager (Melbourne), Barry Gittins, Rachel prefaced their discussion with her belief that The Salvation Army informed and shaped ‘a definite side to Sir Bruce’s life that he treasured’. “For his whole life,” she added, “he served the community through boards and various roles, including playing with the Army’s territorial staff band. The Salvation Army was very special to Sir Bruce.” Rachel noted that Sir Bruce’s funeral in May 1980 was held at The Salvation Army’s Gold Coast Corps, supported by the corps band. Barry suggested that a young Bruce Small had loved playing and singing in the Melbourne Staff Band (as the group is now known) for many years and “was something of a rock star before there was rock and roll”. “Sir Bruce was a very respected instrumentalist and euphonium player, who could play his hemi-demi-semi-quavers with the best of them, and he was also a gifted vocal soloist and member of a vocal quartet used by the MSB.” Citing Merv Collin’s 2015 history of the MSB, Barry said that radio station 3LO’s first broadcast on Monday 13 October 1924 featured Dame Nellie Melba singing La Bohème from the stage of Her Majesty’s Theatre. The following evening, the Territorial Staff Band gave a live broadcast from the studio in Collins Street, and “Bandsman Bruce Small sang, accompanied by Mrs Carnell at the piano and Cadet Neilson on violin.” Following Dame Nellie was no mean feat. Barry also cited a report in The Salvation Army publication The Musician that recalled Sir Bruce visiting Mildura Corps (Vic.) with the MSB “in the 1920s, when Sir Hubert Opperman was riding in the Tour de France cycling event. Older comrades of the band remember the keen interest that Sir Bruce Small (then a member of the band) had in his friend’s progress.” “The entrepreneur was already showing the remarkable multi-tasking skills that exemplified his life,” Barry said. Days before his death in 1980, Sir Bruce wrote congratulating the MSB on 90 years of existence. Despite the former lord mayor and parliamentarian’s international renown, his vast fortune, his many successes and victories in business, sport, politics, and his shaping of a city’s culture and a state’s reputation, Sir Bruce said that “the most satisfying years of his life had been spent in the Staff Band.” For more information and to purchase the book, click here. Article compiled by Barry Gittins, The Salvation Army Museum (Melbourne) Assistant Manager

Salvation Army officers who have concluded their service in 2024: Effective 18 March 2024 Captain Lloyd Stanimirovic

Major Elaine Redwood was promoted to glory on Saturday 2 March 2024, aged 86. Our love and prayers along with our heartfelt sympathy cover Graham and Val Redwood, Lorraine Redwood, Majors Karen and Gary Masters and their families, (Elaine's seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren). A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Elaine’s life was held on Friday 15 March 2024 at Rookwood Crematorium, South Chapel, Lidcombe. Major Jean Moloney was promoted to glory on Friday 8 March 2024, aged 93. Our love and prayers along with our heartfelt sympathy cover Barbara Howard (niece) and her family. A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Jean’s life was held Graveside Funeral, Parkes Cemetery in The Salvation Army section. Auxiliary Captain Esther Manley was promoted to glory on Thursday 1 February 2024 aged 76. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy cover and surround, Marisa, Richard and Samantha, Nardia, John, and Chris and their families. ‌ ‌‌Major Margaret Armstrong was promoted to glory on Monday 5 February 2024 aged 82. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy cover and surround, Stuart, Newton, and Kylie, along with grandchildren Tigerlily, Gracie, Jarrah and Oliver, and great-grandchildren Henry and Delilah. A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of  Margaret's life was held on Thursday 15 February. ‌ Lieut. Colonel Ian Begley was promoted to glory on Wednesday 7 February 2024 aged 94. Our love and prayers along, with our heartfelt sympathy, cover and surround Major Lynn Jones, Suzanne and Andy, Ray, Rod, and Karen; 5 grandchildren: Dylan (with Eloise), Katelyn (with Damon) and Nathan (with Chad); and in England; Alicia (with Glen) and Danielle (with Tom); and one great-grandchild, Alicia’s son Josiah. A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Ian’s life was held at 11am on Friday 16 February at Box Hill Corps. Major Dawn Trainor was Promoted to Glory on Wednesday 14 February 2024 aged 79 years. Our love and prayers along with our heartfelt sympathy covers and surrounds Major Iain Trainor. Captain John (Jack) Kelly was promoted to glory on Sunday 28 January 2024, aged 97. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy, surrounds Captain Julie, Stephen, Phillip, Julie and their families at this time. A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Jack’s life will be held at midday on Thursday 8 February at The Salvation Army Eastlakes Corps. Major Stan Evans was promoted to glory on Monday 29 January 2024, aged 84. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy, surrounds Major Jean, David and Martine, Wendy and their grandchildren: Jordan, Bradley, Christine, Kira and Jacqui. A Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Stan’s life will be held at 10am on Friday 9 February at The Salvation Army Gosford Corps. Major Joyce Olaisen was promoted to glory on Tuesday 2 January 2024, aged 94. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy, surrounds Julie-Anne and Melinda, Rachael and Finn, Earle and Sue, Kacie and Jacinta and their families and sister-in-law Major Clorine Pearson. A service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Joyce’s life was held on Wednesday 10 January 2024. ‌ Major Brian Corkery was promoted to glory on Wednesday 3 Janaury 2024, aged 69. Our love and prayers, along with our heartfelt sympathy, surrounds Shella and Aux-Lieutenant Daniel, Natalie and Michael, Amanda and Danny and their families as well as Major Jennifer Armstrong. A service of Thanksgiving and Celebration of Brian’s life will be held at 10:30am on Wednesday 24 January at The Salvation Army, Gosnells Corps, WA.

Each week throughout this year, Salvationists around the world are uniting in prayer for a particular territory or region of The Salvation Army. Prayer requests are shared by the focus territory/region to help us pray with precision and power for one another. This week we are praying for the USA Western Territory. ·       We thank God that he is alive and well in our territory. We thank him for the blessings he pours out and for what the future holds for his Kingdom. ·       Pray for continued movement of the Holy Spirit through the territory and guidance in every program, ministry, corps and division. ·       For God to continue to bring men and women as officers. We had a beautiful Future Officers Fellowship weekend, and we praise God for commitments made. We believe God is continuing to call and we are asking that hearts be open to that calling and his leading. ·       We ask for prayers for our remotest ministries in Saipan, Chuuk, Guam, Pohnpei, Majuro and the islands, as well as the remotest places in Alaska. May God continue to bring resources for the ministry there. And we ask for prayer over the officers and ministry leaders in these areas, that they would remain safe and well and uplifted by the prayers and encouragement of others. ·       We believe that revival is here in this territory. We can sense it, and we ask for prayer that this would continue, and that men and women and girls and boys would come to know Jesus as their personal saviour. And that those who know him would grow deeper in their faith. Did you know three other countries are part of the USA Western Territory? To find out more about the USA Western Territory, click here. For more information on the International Prayer Focus 2024, and to download the calendar, click here.

As we reflect on the Self Denial Appeal series, Revolution Worship brings us the original song Your Love (Set Us Free) written for the appeal. Words and music by Dan Casey and Luke O’Dea. This Self Denial Appeal, you’re encouraged to take the time to reflect on how you can make a sacrificial commitment to display your love for God and others in action. To donate or find out more, visit my.salvos.org.au/self-denial-appeal

The Salvation Army has had brass bands since 1878 when Fred Fry told his three boys (Huey, Dewey and Louie, I believe) to make a joyful noise for the Lord. My own corps has a very good brass band, which I play in, as well as a worship band, and both aid our Sunday worship beautifully. I think I’ve realised why brass bands have declined in the Army. It’s simply because the instruments have weird names. And so I’m suggesting that we change the names and watch as people flock back to band practice and ‘A Tune A Day’ books become bestsellers again. Let’s begin with the bass, which we all know is a tuba, but, for some reason, we call it a bass. I’m suggesting we call it (depending on copyright issues with Hungry Jacks) ‘the big whopper’. Really, if you’re a bass player and a small child comes up to you and says, “What instrument do you play?”, would you rather say, “B flat bass”, or point at it and say, with a grin, “The big whopper”. Correct, you’d prefer the latter. Trombones should be called ‘slidey pumpers’ and bass trombones should be called ‘extendable crackers’, based on the cracking sound they make when the player has a big set of lungs and wants to give the player in front of him a heart attack. Flugel horns sound lovely but should really be known as ‘fat trumpets’ (as distinct from fat strumpets, but that’s an article for another day). Either that or flugelators; this would allow us to call players of the instrument flugelatorologists, which would just look great on a business card. ‘M. Davies, professional flugelatorologist for hire’. If basses become big whoppers, then clearly euphoniums should be ‘regular whoppers’, baritones should be ‘mini-whoppers’, and tenor horns should be ‘piccolo whoppers’. That’s all self-explanatory. Cornet players like the high notes and getting all the attention as the instrument that often carries the melody of a band piece. I think they should be called ‘silver cornetto air blasting shriekers’; it just seems more appropriate. They could be called ‘scabs’ for short. I’ve always loved percussion and love the way they play so many different instruments in some of the longer band selections. I had an uncle who played percussion in a very good band, and I would watch as he tucked his sticks under his arm, walked to the cymbal and hit it twice with a different stick, placed that stick under the other arm and picked up a set of maracas, then picked up a metal beater and struck the triangle three times. I think we should refer to percussion as ‘noise juggling’ instead. It sounds much more fun. “What do you do at church on Sundays?”, “I’m a noise juggler.” That leaves the bandmaster, who is often waving his/her arms in the air and holding a baton – I think we should call them ‘musical stick insects’. That should do it. Swing those name changes into place and watch our brass bands grow. Now, I can’t wait to play my piccolo whopper next Sunday. – Major Mal Davies and his wife Major Tracey are the Corps Officers at Adelaide City Salvos

An honest, raw, thought-provoking and challenging reflection from a parent of a child with autism. I am hiding a part of myself; my right arm hooked around my waist, my hand tightly curled in my back pocket. I stand to one side and hold a conversation like this, replying to other parents, my arm out of sight. I finish, then slip away to the carpark. The noise and movement of the school drop off is over, and I pull my arm out from behind me. A small, pale pattern trails up my forearm, the marks of teeth still in my wrist. I breathe. I have been hiding my right hand. I am hiding bite marks. I am the parent of an autistic child. The school drop off that morning had followed an outburst of panic, a melt­down. It happens often in our home – shouting, kicking, sometimes biting – when our child becomes overwhelmed. You learn to hide it; closing the front door when it starts, parking further away, turning down invitations if it all seems too much. You learn to hide your right hand when it is bitten. In a sense, you learn to hide a part of your child. “I am afraid of how people might see them, of what society might do” Autism is becoming more visible, with Australia having some of the highest rates of autism diagnosis among children in the world. One in 25 children aged seven to 14 are diagnosed on the autism spec­trum, but people don’t always know what to think about it. Australia is looking at autism more than ever, but as the parent of an autistic child you can sometimes face a dilemma; autism can’t be hidden in our society anymore, but people don’t always know how to respond. What is autism? Autism is a collective term for a group of neurodevelopmental traits that can affect someone’s social interactions, communication, behaviours and sensi­tivities. Autism is naturally occurring and lifelong, presenting in different ways, with different degrees of challenges. Some may consider autism a disorder or a disability, seeing the ways it impairs someone, and think it can be treated or fixed. Until the 1980s, autistic children with more significant challenges were often institutionalised. It can be harder for autistic children to make friends, learn, and participate in our communities as a result. When autistic children are unable to do these things, they can often be excluded, disadvantaged, even punished. Autistic young people in Australia today are less likely to finish school and more likely to encounter the juvenile justice system. A 13-year-old autistic boy was targeted online by police in 2021 and charged with terror offences, after his parents had first sought help from authorities. (A court dismissed the charges last year.) I know how some people can respond to my child, when a meltdown comes, when it all becomes too much. I know how some see the shouting, the kicking, the biting. I know how my child might be viewed by schools, workplaces, strangers, the police. I know what some may think – that there is something wrong with my child, that they are bad. I don’t want to hide any part of my child, but I am afraid of how people might see them, of what society might do. Made in God’s image I sometimes think about the biblical story of creation. The story, at the beginning, portrays the world as a place made up of distinctions, differences that grow over time. The world is made of light and dark, earth and water, and the story sees humanity as part of this creation. People are shaped from the earth, but with something divine within. This story tells us that creation, with all its differences, is “good”, and that all people are made in the image of God. “No autistic child should be hidden” The story our society can tell about autism is often incomplete. The traits of autism can be impairing, but these traits can also be unique, allowing for passion, intelligence and joy. Some might see my child as bad, but they don’t see my child the way I do, how sweetly my child sings, how tightly they hold you, how big they smile. (It’s the smile that stays with you.) Letting go There isn’t something wrong with autistic people, there’s something wrong with how we can see them. We can choose to see autism anew, as something unique, to be included and empowered. Autism has its difficulties, but there isn’t something wrong with autistic people because they’re differ­ent. There is something divine in how they are different, a revelation of God. I am holding a part of myself, my arm hooked around a small waist, my right hand curled around my child’s. I stand with them, as they hug me tight. The noise of the school drop off is over­whelming. I breathe, with my child, and when they are ready, I let them go. I still don’t get this right all the time. I have learned to hide parts of my child. I must also learn to hold them, and to let them go, to let people see them, and all that they are. “Bite marks fade, but have you seen that smile?” Autism is more and more visible in Australia, so we are going to have to tell a new story about it, one of inclusion and empowerment. This story must start at the beginning, with goodness at the heart of all autistic people, and must go on to change schools, workplaces, churches, the health and justice systems. No autistic child should be hidden. They are a picture of the divine and the unique differences that make up the world. Bite marks fade, but have you seen that smile? It’s a revelation. *Article by a Salvos Online staff writer. Names withheld to protect privacy.

BY ANTHONY CASTLE As part of the recent Yakila conference in South Australia, The Salvation Army’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team visited Colebrook Reconciliation Park on Kaurna Country at Eden Hills in Adelaide’s south. Once an institution for Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed, Colebrook Reconciliation Park is now a memorial to those children and their families. The team visited the nearby site to pay respects and acknowledge those who once lived on the grounds. “We were actually reflecting on the late Lowitja O’Donoghue [Indigenous rights advocate] who had passed away,” explains Maria Anderson, the Divisional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator for SA/NT. “Colebrook was the place where she was brought up. That’s what led us to go up there, to remember her, knowing that Sorry Day was coming up too.” The team visited the site just one day prior to the 16th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. The children who lived at Colebrook Home were removed from their families and land because of the government’s policy of assimilation. Some never saw their parents again and suffered the trauma of separation into their adult life. The Colebrook site was host to 350 children who were removed and placed in the home from 1943-1972. “I often take some of our staff to Colebrook to do cultural awareness training,” Maria says. “The park gives people some insight into the story. Within The Salvation Army, there’s a lot who are unaware of it all, but when they go to the park, they can see it’s real. This is where the house was, where the stolen children lived, this is the yard. People can see for themselves.” The site has been transformed into a memorial park over the years through the efforts of the Colebrook former residents (Tji Tji Tjuta, ‘many little children’), their families, and other groups. Statues were created to commemorate the grief of the mothers who lost their children during that time. During their visit, The Salvation Army’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Team gathered at the Grieving Mother statue to spend time in grief and prayer. “When people get to the statue of the grieving mother, they’re challenged,” Maria explains. “Having spent all three to four days at the Yakila gathering, we were thinking about doing something to bring us down, where we could take the time to reflect, think about our own families who had children taken. No matter what time of the year, I always have tears when I get to the weeping mother.” Stolen Generations survivors are some of Australia’s most vulnerable people, and many have kept their stories and experiences secret for many years, even decades. An inquiry into the South Australian Government’s removal of Aboriginal children launched last year delivered its preliminary report recently, comparing the predicted level of removal of Aboriginal children now to that of the Stolen Generation. “In 2024, there are more kids taken away now than when the Stolen Generation was happening,” Maria says. “People live in Adelaide all their lives and don’t know the park is here. This is why I say, ‘go to the site, go to the Kaurna story, where you live and work’. That’s what we’re trying to do, get people to know that part of our journey. We don’t want to repeat this story.” The Salvation Army personnel and communities are encouraged to visit Colebrook Reconciliation Park and learn more about the Kaurna story.