| On
Saturday 7th March 2004, DCSG officially opened their
offices at Bankstown. This speech, presented by Liz
Marles, was the opening address: I’d
like to welcome everyone here today for the joint
opening of the DCSG Office, and in particular Senator
Andrew Murray who has been a fantastic supporter of
the DCSG. This is his second official function with
us, the first having been the launch of Caroline Lorbach’s
book “Experiences of Donor Conception”.
For those of you who don’t know, the DCSG was
established by a group of families 11 years ago, who
felt they needed support in being open with their
children regarding the way in which they were conceived.
From those early days, the group has grown to include
not only families with children, but those considering
donor conception, adult offspring, donors, professional
members, and overseas members. Although our initial
needs were around issues such as how to tell our children,
it became very clear to the group that there was almost
no community discussion on this topic, little in the
way of legislation governing record keeping, and no
consideration of the rights of those people who would
be conceived in this way.
In 1996 the group held the world’s first ever
consumer organised Donor Issues Forum. Thanks to the
hard work of Caroline Lorbach, the proceedings of
this forum formed the basis of the Groups first publication
– “Let the Offspring Speak”. Proceeds
from the sale of this book went towards the group
and helped keep us solvent over the next few years.
11 years on from those early days the group has had
many successes. We have brought this issue into the
public arena, with members doing publicity in papers,
radio and TV. A number of group members have contributed
papers at international conferences, both in Australia
and overseas. Most recently Geraldine Hewitt was invited
to Japan to present the findings of her research on
“Missing Links”. Some of you may have
seen Geraldine on “Enough Rope” last year,
where along with Peter who is a donor, they articulated
the issues very clearly. Caroline has been a tireless
consumer advocate, lobbying politicians and last year
publishing her second book “Experiences of Donor
Conception”. Without Leonie’s phenomenal
networking skills, and unbelievable persistence, there
is no doubt the group would not have achieved such
a profile. Behind the scenes Warren Hewitt has provided
invaluable technical assistance and support, whilst
Michelle has consistently taken on important roles
including her current one of treasurer. Many others
have also contributed countless volunteer hours, and
I extend the groups thanks to them also.
Through all of this time, the DCSG has occupied a
large part of the Hewitt House! Photocopiers, faxes
and computers, not to mention countless books and
reams of paper have taken over, and we would like
to thank the whole family for being so generous with
not only there time, but also their space. The library
has also occupied various rooms in DCSG households,
which has allowed us to provide his service.
The opening of this office marks a new stage in our
maturity as a group. We no longer have to operate
out of our homes, but have a professional space, of
which we are extremely proud. Unfortunately we still
have no source of income other than our membership
fees and proceeds from the book (please buy one) but
hopefully that will change in the future as the politicians
realise the good work we do.
With that I would like to welcome Senator Andrew
Murray
Liz Marles
March 2004
Thank
you Liz for all the support you have given the committee,
the public speaking engagements and doing the thought
provoking editorials in the newsletters.
|
See
this month's Marie Claire magazine for an article
about Donor Conceived Adults.
