$10,000 for Poowong Consolidated School

Monday, August 5th, 2024

Poowong Consolidated School is the successful recipient of a $10,000 South Gippsland Water Community Resilience Grant that will help ensure valuable teaching and learning continues in challenging times.

The funding was made available after South Gippsland Water issued a precautionary Boil Water Advisory for Poowong, Loch and Nyora in January this year. The Community Resilience Grant signifies South Gippsland Water’s commitment to customers and service standards, and community organisations within these towns were invited to apply.

“This grant is an integral part of our response to the incident,” explained South Gippsland Water Managing Director, Robert Murphy. “We feel strongly that a grant that supports the community or builds capacity to face future incidents or emergencies was something we can do in the wake of these events.”

Blackouts extending for several days have plagued the community of Poowong in the last four years. Poowong Consolidated School applied for funding under the Community Resilience Grants program to purchase a generator that Principal, Michael Smethurst, said would help the school stay open during power outages.

“During the last blackout we had earlier this year, some families were without power for up to two weeks,” Mr Smethurst explained. “It was an emotional time.”

During a blackout, the school toilets can’t function, phones are disrupted and there’s no sufficient lighting, heating or cooling.

With around 117 students, 19 staff and 700 residents of the town of Poowong, Mr Murphy said he hoped this initiative would not only improve the continuity of education in the town but increase the resilience of school infrastructure that could be used by the broader community in times of need.

“Rural schools are central to their communities,” he said. “Poowong Consolidated School has proven how resilient it is and we hope our support will ease the future burden where essential services can remain operational at the school during blackouts where staff, the children and community of Poowong can learn and shelter in a safe environment.”