Doing Our Best

Against a backdrop of cost-of-living pressures, devastating flooding events, an ongoing pandemic and global uncertainty and conflict, we could all use some good news. A new book, released on 11 April, sheds light on the many creative ways everyday Australians respond to adversity and grow.
Titled Doing our Best: Individual and Community Responses to Challenging Times, the book from Occupational Therapy Australia is a curated collection of stories, written in the first person, on how people have found meaning and community amidst more than two years of challenge…
In occupational therapy, occupations refer to the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. Occupations include things people need to, want to and are expected to do. (WFOT – World Federation of Occupational Therapists)
An allied health profession rising from the ashes of World War I, occupational therapy enables people to participate in activities they find meaningful.
These activities include taking care of oneself (and others), working, volunteering, and participating in hobbies, interests and social events. Occupational therapists support people of all abilities to engage in activities they find meaningful.
The stories focus on the things that people did during times of bushfires, floods and COVID. Rather than a focus on resilience, this book captures – in people’s own words – the things they did and the strategies they used to respond to these difficult circumstances. The stories demonstrate the value of having a meaningful occupation.
The intention of this book is to increase understanding of the role occupation and occupational therapists can play in times of adversity, particularly in the Australian context and in recent natural disasters.
The following stories help the community better understand the value of occupational therapy, and by extension occupational therapists.
The Stories:

• Frank Ponissi. “2020 yielded many unexpected stories for Melbourne Storm. Our NRL club played two away games in Sydney, then everything changed as lockdowns arrived, COVID-19 spread, and the nation stopped.” (Sport, COVID19, VIC).
• Shafiq Khan. “My presentation is the narrative of my life, supported by verses from my poems. My story revolves around the turmoil caused by the pandemic and how I coped, emotionally, socially and physically.” (Poetry, COVID19, ACT).
• Janine Hoult. “It was a shock to everyone as it happened quite suddenly; the 2010-11 flooding off the Toowoomba range and down through the Lockyer Valley, and the overload to Wivenhoe Dam and resulting flooding of Brisbane.” (Community Work, Floods, QLD)
• Rebecca Purvis. “A couple of years ago, there was a running joke in my family that l couldn’t even keep a hardy yucca alive. In April 2020, while working from home, l Page 1 of 2 decided to grow my first vegetable garden. Now l have a flourishing vegetable garden and a brand new hobby.” (Gardening, COVID19, VIC)
• Sue Webb. There was a bushfire in Wundowie, Western Australia, in the first week of January that started about 4km from my property. I was away from home and not allowed back so had to ask my neighbours to get my animals out.” (Volunteering, Fires, WA)
• George Pike-Rowney. “Never before have I felt the act of singing—something I firmly believe should be shared with others for communal wellbeing—would become a threat to people’s health.” (Singing, COVID19, ACT)
• Leigh Kinsman. “I live with my wife on the mid-north coast of NSW and am a professor of nursing. Our town was devastated by severe floods in March 2021 that led to the loss of lives and houses, livestock washed up on beaches and thousands of people evacuated.” (Community Work, Floods, NSW)
• Deirdre Hyslop. “In March 2020, a world pandemic was announced, and countries, cities and households went into lockdown. We (Ro, Rachael, Penny and Deirdre) in different cities and two countries (Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra and San Francisco) started zooming weekly.” (Mental health, COVID19, ACT)

We can provide you with their short submission in the book to give you a richer understanding of their stories. “Given the challenges that have faced Australians, it provides uplifting insights into how people find creative ways to respond to adversity and grow. Doing, Being and Becoming are core concepts of occupational therapy practice and at the essence of what we do. The importance of being able to engage in occupations to restore meaning and balance in our lives through doing, even during hardship, is incredibly important. As occupational therapists, we appreciate the privilege of doing with and doing for as we work with individuals, families and communities. From the seemingly simple to the complex, meaningful occupation is at the heart of what we do.” (Excerpt from Foreword, Dr Carol McKinstry, PhD, OTA President.)
Edited by: Stephen Morton