71-year-old humanitarian worker skydiving to raise awareness for refugees
Barbara Bluett, sky diving for refugees
Written by Toowoomba Chronicle, November 6th 2020.
Meet Toowoomba’s 71-year-old skydiving humanitarian worker
Toowoomba’s Barbara Bluett, 71, is taking on the challenge of a lifetime. She will be skydiving into the Gold Coast to raise funds for an organisation that helps integrate refugees.
Barbara Bluett has dedicated a large part of her life to assisting others find their feet in times of turmoil, and drastic change.
She spent time in Iraq during the height of the Yazidi genocide at the hands of ISIS, and worked in safe houses to protect women.
Now, Ms Bluett is preparing for the challenge of a lifetime.
At 71, she will be jumping out of a plane to raise funds and awareness for You Belong, a Toowoomba-based organisation that works to integrate refugees into the community.
Ms Bluett’s work began in 2014, where during three separate stints she worked in a safe house for the Yezidi women impacted by ISIS.
Her experiences with those women stayed with her when she returned to Toowoomba, for more than one reason.
“My heart just went out to these girls, I just loved them,” Ms Bluett said.
“Eventually they started coming to Toowoomba.
“I was trying to get back there to work but then the government brought them not only back to Australia but to Toowoomba.
“They’re the most beautiful people to try and help,” she said.
“They’re so grateful and hospitable, you just want to take away their pain and befriend them.
“It’s very rewarding work because they’re just lovely people.”
When You Belong started in 2018, Ms Bluett said she jumped at the opportunity to work with them.
“You Belong has been very important,” she said.
“The government can’t do everything so an organisation like You Belong is very important and they do a fantastic job.”
When the idea was floated to do a fundraiser for the organisation, regional director Rachael Carter suggested skydiving.
A group of 12 brave locals put their hands up to contribute to the cause – Ms Bluett was one of the first.
“I just thought, anything to help the Yazidis,” she said.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity to raise money for You Belong and have a bit of an adventure.
“When I heard about it I thought it was a good thing for me to do.”
Ms Bluett said there was a long way to go in helping refugees integrate into a new community.
The skydiving fundraiser is about more than raising money for You Belong – it’s about raising awareness for the cause, and getting as many people on board to lend a hand.
“There’s so many things we can do to help these people,” Ms Bluett said.
“It’s never enough.
“There’s just so much we can do to help them because there’s so many of them here.
“They love hospitality, they just want to learn English and they just want to become friends with Australians.”
You Belong has set a fundraising goal of $50,000.
You can sponsor Barbara ahead of her dive here:
