Nine weeks after the Longwood bushfire devastated Ruffy, Tablelands Fire Recovery Hub volunteer Coll Furlanetto said healing conversations were happening.
The hub hosted an International Women’s Day event on Monday, March 9, in its new “swish-bang ‘M*A*S*H tent’,” provided by Fire Rescue Victoria and Urban Search and Rescue.
“We called it the M*A*S*H tent because it looks like the M*A*S*H tent (from the 1970s and ’80s television sitcom) and the acronym we used is ‘mending alongside shared hope’,” Mrs Furlanetto said.
Inside, volunteers from Mansfield had set up massage stations, foot spas and reflexology for the event, which attracted more than 60 women and girls.
Random raffle tickets determined which treatment holders received.
“I was privileged that someone gave me their number and insisted I come in,” Mrs Furlanetto said.
“I had my feet done and just hearing the healing conversation ... it’s a significant day.
“A lot of things have happened since the fires.
“Life keeps moving on, people have lost loved ones and other life events, kids have gone back to school, all of these challenges and struggles, so they were comparing notes and sharing.
“For a while, we were hour by hour, day by day and then week by week, and now we’re rolling into thinking a month ahead.”
Mrs Furlanetto said everyone was at different stages, and there was no right or wrong place to be.
“I think it’s a really good thing to see how far our community has come.”
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