How a group of families responded to tragic drowning in southwest Brisbane 

A local effort in the southwest of Brisbane has demonstrated how groups of families can effectively respond to needs within their local community through consultation, compassion and love. 

In March, in the aftermath of the Queensland cyclone, a 23-year-old youth fell into the Brisbane River at Jindalee boat-ramp and was taken away by the current. Family members tried to save him, but he did not resurface. 

After becoming aware of the tragedy, one of the Baha’is from the Westlake group of families decided to get food and deliver for the youth’s family who were staying at the boat-tamp while the search for the body was continuing and forged a close friendship with the aunt, a church pastor. 

After discovering the family needed financial support to cover funeral expenses, the group of families then consulted at the Feast – a gathering which takes place in the Baha’i community every 19 days for prayer, consultation and socialising – about how they could lend support. They raised funds and shared them with the aunt and the family. The funds, which contributed towards the funeral catering costs, had a significant impact on the hearts of the family members who said they were “deeply touched” by this act of kindness and generosity. 

In its recent message to the Baha’is of the world, the international governing body of the Faith, the Universal House of Justice, said: 

The Westlake group of families has been serving together for the past two years, regularly coming together to study, reflect, act and embrace more individuals into the local community-building process. 

Inviting friends to core activities, holy days, neighbourhood days and other spaces, they are consistently visiting one another and learning about how to contribute towards a more vibrant and ever-advancing neighbourhood.