BY JARROD MELMETH
The Medowie community has come together over the weekend in an effort to keep children in isolation entertained.
On Friday, Hunter New England Health with the assistance of police conducted a large scale operation testing and isolating residents of the Motto Farm Motel at Heatherbrae after a COVID positive person was "very active" in the community. Residents of the motel have since been told they will need to isolate for 14 days.
The motel is used as temporary accommodation for the regions vulnerable families and the Medowie community were concerned for the welfare of children and their parents who are now confined to their rooms.
After a call out on Facebook, organiser Rachael Vaughan says they were flooded with books, board games, play doh and stationary from members of the community who wanted to help.
"Whenever we put out a call for arms or a helping hands post we never are ceased to be amazed by the way the community snaps quickly into gear.
"We put a call out around 9am and we set up a driveway at a local community members house where people could arrive and contactless drop off in the driveway. By 2pm in the afternoon, the driveway was full, tabled overflowing and we were just completely overwhelmed but not at all surprised," Ms Vaughan said.
The group of Medowie mums met at 8pm on Friday night, masked up in the driveway and sorted and packed all the boxes and bags. They've have been able to make up enough bags, that any child, across the Hunter who is forced to isolate, can receive an activity bag.
"We are concerned for the kids who are very quickly and very suddenly completely isolated from being able to go anywhere.
"Some of these kids are already going through some different situations with their own families that if we can provide activities for them to be able to have something to take their mind off it, I think that's a very important thing to be able to be a part of," Ms Vaughan said.
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| The group of Medowie residents putting together the bags. |
