Clint Durham from Feed the Little Children – Photo, Leon Mead

Clint and Deb Durham made up their minds they could no longer bear knowing toddlers and infants were sleeping hungry in the great hypocrisy that is the tourist mecca of Broome on the far north coast of Western Australia.

Mr Durham is a 15 year intelligence analyst with the Western Australian police and in this time acknowledged the horrific statistics of many young Aboriginal offenders breaking into homes purely to steal some food or money for food, simply because they were hungry.

Earlier this year the Stringer highlighted the plight of endemic Aboriginal homelessness in the Kimberley and surprisingly in Broome, with areas such as One Mile Community and Kennedy Hill blighted by homelessness and impoverished families.

In 2006 the Counting the Homeless Report recorded horror figures after the Census of 638 per 10,000 Kimberley people homeless and most of them Aboriginal.

This rate is the second worst in the nation and 17 times the national average.

However both the State and Federal governments and the respective Indigenous Affairs Ministers, Peter Collier for Western Australia and the Federal Government’s Jenny Macklin have turned a blind eye to the situation and other than the Stringer and the National Indigenous Times no mainstream news media or government department has delved into the Kimberley’s shocking homelessness rates and the impacts upon families.

However for Mr Durham it is a different story and unlike many who have turned a blind eye to the terrible situation he and his wife could not.

He made a decision to do something tangible in making a difference after completing further research into crime-ridden areas for his Master’s degree.

He made the connection between juvenile property crime and poverty, neglect and hunger.

Mr Durham, himself a father of two, decided he and his wife would not wait around while governments continued to let children languish without food for days and he stepped in with a way forward which clearly signifies what the solutions are.

With his wife, who is a canteen manager at a local Catholic school, St. Mary’s, they started the Feed the Little Charity in February this year.

Feed the Little Children – Photo, Leon Mead

“A lot of the children come from dysfunctional families. It is just circumstances beyond their control in many of the cases,” he said. “There is nothing deliberate in what parents and families do who are trapped by acute poverty.”

They started the charity work from their home. Using industrial sized pots, Mrs Durham started cooking up enough food to feed more than 100 children, including babies. Such is the extent of the problem in Broome and surrounding communities – the neglect by governments is shameful. However Mr Durham, with a striking humility, does not have a bad word to say about anyone, including government departments and agencies.

Volunteers distribute food packages complemented by donations of orange juice and snacks from local businesses. Families are grateful for the helping hand.

Feed the little children – Photo, Leon Mead

In the beginning to keep Feed the Little Children going the Durhams dipped into their own pockets – the weekly cost for 100 food packages was about $150 per week with $50 of this donated by their church each week.

Word spread of Feed the Little Children and the Health Department offered the Durhams the use of a commercial kitchen and with a small grant they secured cooking equipment and supplies.

After a while they moved kitchen to St Mary’s Catholic School which has allowed them to do more. More people have come on board to cook and distribute, hence more children are being fed.

The Durhams are working to achieve the objective of a 24 hour, 365 a year emergency food service for children in need put into operation.

“Deb would cook Saturday mornings and we’d get to the children late afternoon,” Mr Durham said. “After a while they knew we were coming and they’d be there every Saturday afternoon, however since securing a couple more cooks and many more volunteers we are now able to start cooking and delivering on Wednesdays as well.”

Deb Durham from Feed the Little Children – Photo, Leon Mead.

They go to the areas with acute homelessness like One Mile Community and Kennedy Hill however also to specific homes and into the parks where the children wait.

Donations have increased to ensure the Durhams have been able to offset costs however if more sponsors and donors get behind Feed the Little Children more children will be nourished and families helped and lives mended.

The actions of the Durhams and Feed the Little Children charity have put the State and Federal governments to shame.

If anyone would like to assist Mr Durham can be contacted at clint.durham@feedthelittlechildren.org.au