Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Anita and Yuckling

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (15:05): In my teens I met two incredible women who became my ultimate role models. Their names are Anita and Yuckling. They were 22 years old when the banks of a river broke, leaving thousands orphaned. They rescued children who were alone, sick and dying. They searched for their families, and when their family was found dead they became their family. I stayed with them in their home in Asia with 26 kids, all loved and cared for. It has now been a year since Yuckling passed away, and I would love to honour her in this house today. She was a hero. In any situation she could laugh. She was unassuming, lighthearted, beautiful and courageous. Once I asked her about her chronic shoulder pain, and I was not ready for what she told me. She said although many children were rescued, many were not. Those children, mostly babies with no families, were left on the streets after this major disaster, dead. She would pick them up and carry them home and give them the dignity of a proper burial. She often walked for hours. It was so cold that the longer she walked, the colder the babies would be resting on her shoulder, and that is when her pain started. This was a constant memorial of the little lives lost. She showed me the beauty of love, grit and sacrifice, and that fighting for others might sometimes hurt but it will give you a life that is full and worth living. She showed me that often the more pain, the more beautiful the person. Anita and Yuckling really did change the world. They smashed boundaries, and they did it all for others. My thoughts are with Anita on the loss of her beautiful friend. As for Yuckling, if there is somebody who really does belong in heaven, it is her, because she saved so many others from a life in hell. Yuckling, may you rest in peace.