14 years ago, Barnardos Mother of the Year Keelen Mailman, opened her home (and her heart) to then 9-year-old Fay Anderson and her four brothers and sisters who were desperate for a loving home after years of neglect and abuse.
Yesterday, Anderson got the chance to thank her ‘Aunty Kay’, when she introduced her guardian at the annual awards.
“I didn’t want to live on this earth anymore. I was being physically and emotionally abused by someone who was supposed to love and care for me, let down time and time again by my parents. She was my chance, my Aunty Kay. I wish I could give her the world,” she said.
The audience then heard how Mailman had to rise above childhood trauma that was characterised by sexual abuse and poverty to become the primary carer for her incapacitated mum at 12-years-old, after she’d suffered a severe stroke.
Mailman drew on this same selfless strength when she successfully represented herself in court to obtain full guardianship of her nieces and nephews, offering the same unconditional love and support to her new “kids” that she showed her three biological children.
On top of this, Mailman was also running a cattle station 700 kilometres west of Brisbane, for which she became the first Aboriginal woman to do so.
But as she told the Huffington Post, she isn’t one for fuss and bother. “It’s hard for me to talk about without getting emotional. I must have done something right to touch my niece’s life so much,” she said while reflecting on her niece’s decision to nominate her.
Now in its 21st year, the Barnardos Mother of the year awards are the largest and most recognised of their kind that celebrate mothering.
Mailman told the audience at the Museum of Contemporary Art that all of her kids have now grown up and moved out of home, but she’s still as busy as ever.
In fact, Mailman’s dedication to improving the lives of others continues in the form of a community project that she is working on with Indigenous health advocate Sheryl Lawton, which will see plans for a healing centre for young men and women.
“We’ve got to look out for the younger generation, there’s enough to give a little to everyone and we want to share our Bidjara culture with the rest of the world,” she said.
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