On September 16, Svetlana Murphy’s life changed forever.
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Her husband Michel died unexpectedly and suddenly, leaving her a single mother to five children – the youngest just two months old.
“He was someone who was loving and caring with a good sense of humour, but he did suffer from depression for a lot of his life,” Ms Murphy said. “It was quite a shock for all of us… and quite traumatic to find ourselves here, with my family in Kazakhstan.”
She had only spoken to her sister earlier that day.
“I had to call them after midnight so for them to see me on the screen happy and then devastated on the phone a couple of hours later was a total shock,” Ms Murphy said. “They felt very, very hopeless and helpless because they were stuck on the other side of the world and there was nothing they could do.”
Her colleagues at Goodstart Early Learning have stepped in to help the family heal, setting up a community market day fundraiser to send them to Kazakhstan to be with family for one month.
With her husband the major breadwinner and Ms Murphy still on maternity leave, she has found herself faced with the prospect of losing the house in Gordon or selling the car. Travelling overseas had never been option.
“It’s probably one of the best Christmas presents we could ever have,” she said. “Michel and I had spoken about it before (his death), but financially there was no way so not for a minute did I think it was possible.”
Ms Murphy’s local Country Women Association branch, children’s schools, friends and even strangers in the community have extended the goodwill through home cooked meals, phone calls and even raising more funds to bring her mother to Australia for six months following the trip.
She said while accepting help had been both a humbling and, at one stage, embarrassing experience – until a friend gently reminded her she had five reasons to – she had also been “blown away” by the kindness of the local communities.
“I worked since I was 13 years old, supported myself my whole life so I never had to rely on anyone. So for me, it was like being out there with a stretched out hand,” she said. “But I’m eternally grateful, I don’t think thank you is a strong enough word.”
A community market will be held at Victoria Park on Saturday, January 14, from 9am to 3pm with activities for the whole family including more than 20 market stalls, a sausage sizzle, face painting and games to entertain children of all ages.
