WOMEN WHO FIGHT

Meet the survivors, humanitarians and stars who shine a light into the darkness.

MOIRA KELLY HER LIFE FOR OTHERS

Inspired by footage of Mother Teresa she saw at age 7, Moira Kelly went on to work side-by-side with the celebrated nun in Calcutta 11 years later—her first step on the path to becoming the global force for good she is today. Although she’d been helping sick kids for years, Kelly’s work hit the headlines in 2007, when she brought conjoined Bangladeshi twins Krishna and Trishna to Australia for life-saving surgery. Today, the twins, who live with her, “are at school and doing very well,” says Kelly, 52, who shares her Melbourne home with her “big family” from 11 countries: children with complex health conditions and traumatised women. At Kelly’s house of hope, they heal each other. “I couldn’t be in a happier place,” she tells WHO’S Karina Machado, her blue eyes sparkling. “I see miracles every day.” What gives you the strength to fight for children others put in the too-hard basket? The thing that gets me to want to fight is seeing so many injustices … I also believe that a piece of [bureaucratic] paper shouldn’t dictate a child’s life.

How can we all learn to be more compassionate?

Just because we’re Australian doesn’t mean the problems in Syria aren’t our problems. We’re universal … We can’t do everything but Mother Teresa always said, “Little things in great ways.” Don’t wait for the other person to always do it, we can always do something. Kindness goes a long way.

Tell us about the “big family” you care for under your roof.

One of my little girls, Shahd from the Gaza Strip, has Harlequin Ichthyosis. She makes two weeks’ worth of skin overnight. She wakes up and she never complains. She smiles. Through surgery, we’ve given her hands and eyelids. She says, “Look, I can wink!”

What about your Global Gardens of Peace?

Years ago I noticed there were no green spaces for children to play in, in Gaza. Now [with support from the United Nations and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne] we have eight acres in the Gaza Strip. Watch this space.

Who inspires you today?

Sometimes we get lost in the gloss of life and we forget some of the most inspirational people are the ones in front of you. My inspirations are the people around my dinner table. creatinghopefoundation.org.au