Mother Ella is well known in the Sista Girl community and is often a spokesperson for the group. Mother Ella is currently homeless.
Being a Sista Girl on the street, we get a lot of respect from Aboriginal people, they take us where they sleep. We just stay amongst ourselves. We go to the drop-in centre, do our washing. I use the diversionary centre in Townsville, it's a night shelter.
Why did you come on the retreat?
It’s a long way from everybody and it's safe out here too, and we get on really good out.
We don’t see each other all the time, we only see one another now and again. It's not an everyday thing where we can sit down and talk.
What would you like to happen after the retreat?
The Sista Girls can go to places and sit down in a community and feel comfortable and catch up.
It's just not only Townsville, it could be Rockhampton, Doomadgee or the Aboriginal communities for those Sista Girls too.
When I was in Doomadgee working, I just plucked my eyebrows, put my eyebrows on, put a bit of foundation, doing my hair up, and I'm out, you know. My sister said you're not going to wear that.
Of course. I'm not going to hide it.