Update:

(Survivors Australia is now PROJECT KIDSAFE FOUNDATION LTD from PROJECT KIDSAFE FOUNDATION LTD - 30/03/2012 7E4368264 2 205A Notification of Resolution Changing Company Name)

First Edition 4 March 2012

Recently, Nikki Wells registered Survivors Australia in hername as a charitable not for profit organisation, but this was not theoriginal concept prior to Ms. Wells being invited to join a small groupwanting to do something to help those who had suffered sexual abuse byclergy.

Seems that the original concept was not Ms. Wells idea.

The idea of a support group run "by survivors of clergy abuse for survivors" had already been mooted in 2009 by four good-hearted andenlightened friends, all victims of clergy sexual abuse themselves, whohad found mutual understanding and support in each other's company.

The friends had, for some time, been meeting with the hopeof establishing a self help and support group to include others likethemselves. CRUSADER CHRONICLES respects their names and calls them Ellen, Carly, Liam and Mike, all drawn together by their trauma, whorealised the value of their togetherness and thought that other victimscould find each other as they had and reap the same benefits of mutualsupport and companionship. It was never to be about money or anythingformal. It was to be about "being there for each other", finding help in times of cricis, supporting an assisting each other andabout holding each others' hand along the journey towards individualrecovery.  

It was about friends joined by a common trauma who shared a common goal.

At a special meeting of the four, Carly proposed a name for their private group.

It was to be called CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA.

Early in 2010, Ms. Wells and another woman whom CRUSADERCHRONICLES will call Kim, appeared on the 7.30 Report telling theirstories of abuse by catholic clergymen.

This program was viewed by the newly formed little group CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA.

Ellen thought it a good idea to reach out to these twounfortunate and alone women. She contacted the 7.30 Report asking thather details be forwarded to the two. Within days, Ellen received anemail from Wells along with a complete Resume' outlining her businessexperience and achievements and putting herself forward as a potentially valuable addition to the fledgling group.

A week passed and the four members of CRUSADERS AUSTRALIAmet Wells and Kim at the Westfields shopping centre in Hornsby, NSW. Wells is said to have been very excited and enthusiastic about theprospect of establishing a charity envisioned as a formal organisationto support not only clergy abuse survivours but others who had survivedphysical and psychological abuse in their lives. The four explained that this was not the concept they had in mind but, apparently, Wells issaid to have taken charge immediately and convinced the group to meet at her home in Glenorie within the week.

Ellen, Carly and a new lady who had just recently joinedthem, whom CRUSADER CHRONICLES will call Nel, attended that meeting.There, strategy was discussed to get the newly formed group up andrunning. It was all going a bit too fast for the original founders, they did not suspect what Ms. Wells' intentions really were, but they wentalong with what was being proposed to see where it would lead.

The unexpected happened.

The original dream of a friendship/ support groupconceived of by the four friends, now already five counting Nel, was to disintegrate before their eyes!

Wells was ambitious. She saw a business opportinity. Abusiness that would prosper quickly because based on doing good worksand therefore be appealing to people's better natures, a businessmovement advocating supporting the suffering survivors of sexual abuse.

Wells' vision was already grander than what the foundingfour had embraced as thier special mission to reach out to thosesuffering the terrible scourge of church betrayal. They had not wanted a parade. They had not wanted sounding brass trumpets and clashing silver cymbals. Their idea was based on kindness and understanding, friendship and a helping hand in time of need. They wanted to work softly, gently, quietly, unnoticed except by those who would be reached and offeredhelp and support on a personal level. But Wells, believing that she, as a businesswoman, was more experienced and qualified to direct such agroup, elected herself as the person in charge since, as she ispurported to have claimed, she had resources and knew people. This wasnot what the four wanted but, not wanting to lose their dream, theywent along hoping it would work out OK. Wells' first move, asperson-in-charge, (or co-ordinator), was to propose and insist on achange of name for the fledgeling movement.

CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA, which name focussed on the ideals of the group, was re-named SCAA - SURVIVORS OF CLERGY ABUSE AUSTRALIA. Soonafterwards, this was changed again to SURVIVORS AUSTRALIA - no longerabout a person to person crusade to minister to those afflicted by thetorments of clergy abuse, but rather an organisation for all kinds ofabuse survivors - a much broader concept that could link up with already established organisations...and their resources, some of whichorganisations had links with the church through their co-ordinators andmembers, (which seemed a reasonable forfieture for access to resources.) Mike, one of the original four, fell away at this stage from he perceived was a bastardisation of what might have been a finebunch of friendly crusaders approaching suffering people on a personallevel. He gave his allegiance to the American SNAP. Later Nel left thegroup. She felt that there was little opportunity for creative andequal input and that co-operation with Wells was a one way street. Soon the absorbed original CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA, already minus most of itsoriginal founding members, was busily preparing to launch an enormousconference in Sydney at which many church people would speak. The focus was to be the launch of SURVIVORS AUSTRALIA under a blue banner with ared heart emblem and the presentation of a video about Wells' life andher abuse.

Here was SURVIVORS AUSTRALIA founded by Nikki Wells!

CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA had been consigned to the 'not good enough' basket

along with all its ideals and aspirations.

Another member of the original four of CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA,Liam, who is said to have, in good faith and unsuspectingly, providedWells with invaluable contacts, also left. He disassociated himself from this "new and improved" organisation that had taken on an entirelydifferent personality and one which had been taken over and steered in a different direction than that dream he had shared with the originalgroup of four, that had quickly become five intrepid people driven bycompassion and caring forming CRUSADERS AUSTRALIA.

In the end there was one CRUSADER, licking stamps and stuffing envelopes....

and here was SURVIVORS AUSTRALIA!

So CRUSADER CHRONICLES has it.

ASK A MOLESTED CATHOLIC

Ask a Molested Catholic about the clergy abuse issue.