Untold tales

By Kath Gannaway
A STORYTELLING project to run at Yarra Glen will record the untold stories of the Black Saturday bushfires.
As bushfire liaison officer with Eastern Access Community Health (EACH), Jodie Bowker says she has been privileged to hear many personal accounts of Black Saturday and its aftermath.
Ms Bowker has been actively involved at the Yarra Glen Community Fire Relief Centre since 9 February and says while many people have shared their stories, others have not.
Announcing the storytelling project last week, Ms Bowker said it would facilitate people to share their personal accounts of what they were doing, thinking, experiencing on Black Saturday.
“There are still a lot of people who have not spoken about their experiences, who are bottling it all up,” she said.
“In part it is to provide an historical record, because many of these stories are personal and we don’t want them to be lost, but it is also about allowing people to tell their stories,” Ms Bowker said.
She said the stories could be recorded and would then be typed, or people could type or write them themselves, tell their story through art, or work with photographers to have their story told in pictures.
“We will have people taking the stories and we are not limiting the project to people who were directly affected. People who live in the suburbs, or in the city may want to tell their story, even if it is just how they heard about it,” Ms Bowker said.
EACH will also have counsellors on hand as the sessions are running.
People can choose to tell their story as a private thing for themselves or their family, or they can share it in an exhibition which will be held at the end of the project.
The program will run for six to eight weeks at Yarra Glen and further information is available at the Yarra Glen Community Fire Relief Centre or from EACH on 9871 1890.