Purple House CEO Sarah Brown met with Wirrimanu (Balgo) community in June 2019. Since then, Purple House has run many fundraising campaigns under the name “Balgo or Bust” and had some great supporters help out. Despite these efforts, we struggled to get enough funding and COVID slowed down the momentum a lot.
Finally, with thanks to many supporters and funding from the Commonwealth Government, this dream is becoming a reality. Patients have been working hard to be strong enough to return home to Balgo and we are just finishing the final pieces of the puzzle – we can’t wait.
Balgo was never going to be ‘bust’!
“The Balgo Dialysis Clinic has been a very long time coming. When people have kidney problems in Balgo, they have to leave their community and go to Perth to start their dialysis. Then they might get to Kununurra or to Broome but they’re still a really long way from their beautiful Ngurra and their family and everything that keeps them strong and happy. So, bring on Balgo dialysis!” – Sarah Brown, Purple House CEO
Tossy Baadjo was born at Nyinmi in the Gibson Desert, WA. For many years, Tossy ran the clinic in Mulan community, and worked with Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service to produce and package bush medicines to be used around the Kimberley.
She started painting in 1989 and continues to flourish as an artist, honing her technical and creative energy to produce sublime and colourful paintings full of the details of her stories.
Tossy is known for her Motika (motor car) stories which playfully engage her audience with her ingenuity, whilst displaying a deep spiritual and traditional knowledge.
As a dialysis patient herself, it has long been Tossy’s mission to bring remote dialysis to Balgo. She helped paint a collaborative logo for Balgo Dialysis as part of the early fundraising efforts which will be proudly displayed out the front of the new clinic. Desperately missing home and community, and deeply missed by her family, Tossy is currently living hundreds of kms away in Kununurra to access treatment.
Her design depicts troopys full of dialysis patients that will soon be driving back to Country.
This new merchandise is a proud collaboration between Warlayirti Artists and Purple House.
