The remote town of Mungindi in Australia is struggling with a lack of childcare options, forcing parents like Ashlee Johnston to make difficult choices. The closure of the local preschool highlights the challenges faced by rural communities in providing essential services.
The remote town of Mungindi has been without permanent child care or a preschool for a year and is classed as a 'childcare desert'. Ashlee Johnston spent months driving 300 kilometres a day to take her daughter Mila to child care. She juggles her responsibilities as a mother, farmer, and agronomist. Life was a blur of early mornings, late nights, and hours on the road.
'The strain that it was putting on both myself and Mila, was it better for me to just be at home and give up my career that I worked very hard for?' Ms Johnston and her partner Brent were among many young couples who had moved to the remote farming community of Mungindi, on the NSW-Queensland border, and started families. While the crops have been thriving this season, the community was struggling after becoming yet another remote 'childcare desert'. The Mungindi Community Preschool (MCP) celebrated 50 years of operation in 2023 before closing at the end of the year due to Queensland government funding changes. A statement released at the time by the MCP Management Committee read: 'The Mungindi Community Preschool is one of the few early education centres that will be disadvantaged by this change.' 'Unfortunately, the loss of funding will be financially detrimental and prevent our ongoing operation. 'Despite all our incredible sponsors, fundraising efforts, and amazing contributors who work tirelessly to sustain the Mungindi Community Preschool, without the significant contribution from the Department of Education, it is not feasible to continue operating.'The Mungindi Community Education Association (MCEA) was formed in late 2023 to find a solution. A new preschool and long daycare centre is due to open in 2025, thanks to generous community donations and government grants
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