Episode 2 with Amarina Toby

In Episode 2 of Custodial Care, Kirilly Dawn yarns with Amarina Toby (and her baby Jalu). Amarina is a Bundjalung woman with ties to the Gaangalu nation, she is an artist and has recently become a mum. At the time of the 2022 floods in Lismore, Amarina was working at Koori Mail Newspaper as the social media coordinator, she also ran an Indigenous art gallery called Amarina AARI (Aboriginal Artist Run Initiative) in the Star Court Arcade, located downtown Lismore. When the flood hit the town on 28th February 2022, her gallery was destroyed, and as the water subsided she was one of the first on the scene to see the epic damage to streets and buildings, homes and businesses. She was also one of the first to mobilise community action via grassroots and social media communication. In this interview Amarina describes the incredible evolution of the Koori Mail Flood Relief Hub, from nothing but a table and a box of donated bananas to a fully operational disaster management site that supported the whole town and the surrounding communities in the wake of a natural disaster.