Does the name Coober Pedy make you think of Mad Max or Priscilla, or perhaps it’s opals and underground motels?! Please consider for a moment that for a few thousand people, Coober Pedy and the region is much more than that, it’s home.
But if you need dialysis – a five hour treatment three times a week – you are forced to leave that home and community to move 846km south to Adelaide.
It breaks our heart when we hear about renal patients who can’t get home, especially when we can help. For two decades Purple House has delivered life-saving dialysis treatment and got people back on country in some of the remotest parts of Australia, with 18 permanent units in remote communities across the NT, WA and SA, and a mobile dialysis unit called the Purple Truck. We are owned and run by the Pintupi communities of the Western Desert, and our Directors are always keen to help other communities because they know how life changing it is…for the whole community. Our first SA unit opened in Pukatja (Ernabella) on the APY Lands in 2018, and as always, it only came about because the community led the way, with invaluable support from Rotary and a very special collaboration with the APY Art Collective.
A couple of years ago the communities from Coober Pedy and surrounds started talking to us about setting up a permanent Purple House dialysis unit that could service anyone who needed it from town and the remote communities in the region. That plan is coming together! We’ve got great support from a few fabulous individuals and organisations, as well as a much needed commitment from the SA Government announced in late 2020.
But we’re short to build and open the unit…this is where YOU come in!
We’d love it if you would be part of this gem of project and get people home to their family and community in this remarkable part of outback Australia.
DONATETHANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU XXX
P.S. If you’ve got any questions or want to talk about how you can get involved please contact Kate Clark, Communications & Engagement Manager at communications@purplehouse.org.au
