No Canteen? No Worries!

Murwillumbah Services Club heard of the school’s struggles and jumped into action, providing lunch once a month to the students and teachers, even to this day. 

“We're really grateful for the opportunity to partner with small schools like Condong as well as other schools in our catchment that we've helped out throughout last year,” Murwillumbah Services Club CEO Guy Diven said.

Guy says that each month the Club supplies 60 servings of a different meal, the latest being a hearty lasagne, with the chefs also catering to different dietary requirements — including three gluten-free options and seven vegetarian meals. 

Condong Public School had almost six feet of water rush through it at the time of the floods, leaving a huge rebuild which Guy estimates will take another two years to complete. He confirmed the Club will continue its contribution of meals right up until the rebuild is completed and the school can reopen. 

“It is a humble little community that are so grateful, and reflecting with the Principal he said there’s still some parents in this particular cohort that are homeless living out of a car or living in a garage or a shed on someone else's property,” Guy said. 

“The impacts of that flood last year still live on, so a simple thing like a hot meal for a kid is a fairly big deal.” 

Guy said the meals, which cost the Club around $500 each month, give the kids an opportunity to have a normal school experience, despite having no permanent canteen, while supporting them through the huge changes they have had to adapt to at such an early age. 

“From a club point of view, this is our purpose,” Guy said. 

“Our Club was built 75 years ago around serving the community, and that’s what we continue to do.”