Wilcannia River Radio is doing its part to try and inspire residents as the Far West town shows signs of recovering from COVID-19.
The station has launched a project encouraging residents to leave messages, quotes or thoughts on a whiteboard before they are documented and shared with the wider community.
Team Leader Robert Clayton started the project.
“We were thinking about all the people who’ve had COVID and who’ve recovered from COVID and then I thought how about we get the community to talk without speaking so we got whiteboards to write a message and then we take a picture,” Mr Clayton said.
“When COVID first hit, it seemed like we were focussing on the negative, I was sick of it and thought let’s get back to the positive and to our community being community."
The town was thrust into lockdown last month after COVID-19 was brought to the region. More than 150 cases have been recorded in Wilcannia since mid-August.
Young Wilcannia residents urged COVID caution as the virus reached the outback town. Source: Supplied
It's now the ninth day in a row that the town has no new infections.
Mr Clayton hopes the pictures and the messages, which he plans to compile into a video clip, will reinstall hope within the community and encourage them to stay patient with the COVID restrictions so that they can eliminate the virus from their town.
“Hopefully to remind them that we’re all in this together and we’re one community and the sooner we come together and abide by the rules the sooner it’ll all be over," he said.
Mr Clayton also said it’s already having a positive impact on residents.
“It’s helping a lot of people especially the young fellas helping them to express, they’re all loving it.”
The photo project is not the only new initiative, with the local radio station also starting a radio quiz with questions specific to the local community.
“Me and my wife came up with doing with a radio quiz, local questions so you can’t look up the questions," he said.
That sort of was a big hit, people were calling their aunties and uncles to get the answers and learn more.”
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