Life as a remote area nurse in the Northern Territory’s indigenous communities of Canteen Creek and Epenarra has its challenges, but Br John Alting SVD says he loves his work there because of the opportunity to share in the lives of the local people.

“What I love so much about my work in Canteen Creek is the ability to share in the lives of the local Alywarra people who are very fine people and work in co-operation with them to find ways that are acceptable to them to improve their health and well-being and that of their children,” Br John says.

Canteen Creek and Epenarra are located about three hours south-east of Tennant Creek, on the edge of the Davenport Ranges.

“The local people are very easy to like. They’re very relaxed and not obsessed with ambition and doing things like we are,” he says.

“They are happy to ‘be’, not just to ‘do’. They provide lessons in how to have a non-materialistic focus in life. They are innately spiritual.”

Br John grew up in Sydney in a Catholic family where he was the middle of three children and from the time he was a young man, he was attracted to the life of a religious.

“I have always believed in God and his power and goodness,” he says. “I felt that God was calling me to be a religious, rather than a married, family man.

“I wanted to be a religious from about the age of 21, but by that time, both my parents were ill and becoming more dependent on me. Only after both parents died could I apply to join a religious order.

“I was attracted to the SVDs because with them you almost certainly work overseas unless you don’t want to. But I have always wanted to, and still do!”

As a trained nurse and midwife, Br John says he wasn’t sure until he joined the SVD, whether he wanted to be a brother or a priest.

“But I opted for the brothers in my second year with the Society because I believed that was my calling. I thought that I could use my nursing skills better as a brother and that it suited my temperament better.”

Br John joined the Divine Word Missionaries in 1997, taking his first vows in 1999 and his final vows in 2004. He completed all of his formation in Australia, except for a two-year Overseas Training Program placement in Papua New Guinea. Since then, he has served in East Timor, Angola and PNG.

“Working in remote Australia has similarities to my work in PNG, Angola and East Timor, because, out here, we nurses diagnose and treat people without reference to a doctor, except in a few cases, just as we would in those developing countries,” he says.

“And, moreover, the degree of material prosperity is poor amongst the indigenous out here, compared to other Australians, just as we can say the same about the poor in developing countries.”

The main illnesses treated by Br John and his colleagues, including visiting doctors from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, are chronic diseases like diabetes, renal disease, ischaemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease and obesity. Amongst the children there are problems like skin disease, diarrhoea and respiratory disease, along with growth problems.

Br John says that despite the isolation of the communities in which he works, there is much to love about the area.

“It’s much more attractive here than people think,” he says. “It’s much greener, with mountains, forests and creeks and permanent waterholes. There are also lots of animals, including horses, donkeys, kangaroos, dingoes and cattle.”

“I love it here, especially working with the local people.”