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At the end of the 1990s, the Aboriginal people of the Western Desert decided to take things into their own hands to help members of the community affected by kidney disease. The artist cooperative Papunya Tula donated four collaborative paintings, which were sold for around €800,000 at an art auction in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney in November 2000. With this money, they founded a charitable organisation called Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation (WDNWPT), which, roughly translated, means Ģ����ý�making all our families wellĢ����ý�.

Since then, WDNWPT has been busy improving the situation of patients with kidney disease. Sarah Brown is the good spirit behind WDNWPTĢ����ý�s activities. For many years now, she has been working in the Outback. Ģ����ý�I like the countryĢ����ý�s more remote regions and to work with Aboriginal people to improve the lives of their families is a real honour,Ģ����ý� she says.

Since WDNWPT was founded, the number of dialysis patients has increased steadily. And the problems are growing, too. Ģ����ý�The aborigines have a strong bond with their communities and the place where they live,Ģ����ý� confirms the truck manager. "In the past, the Pintupi led a nomadic life at one with nature. Even today in their villages, they prefer to sleep outdoors, under the stars. So, when they are obliged to be in the city, confined to a small room in a residential home, they also suffer psychologically,Ģ����ý� as Sarah Brown observes on a daily basis.

But now, thanks to the Purple Truck, patients in Alice Springs can visit their communities for a few weeks to participate in family events and religious ceremonies.

The 40-foot truck, painted with motifs from the Papunya Tula artist group, is large enough to accommodate a dialysis machine, a water treatment unit and various filter technologies. A 900-litre water tank for dialysis and a 450-litre water tank for other uses are also integrated, as well as a bathroom and sleeping quarters. A power generator can compensate for bottlenecks in the electricity supply. Ģ����ý�The vehicle is equipped to be on the road for several weeks at a time,Ģ����ý� says Sarah Brown.

A driver and a nurse accompany the truck. Ģ����ý�We have a lot of experience operating dialysis machines under extreme conditions,Ģ����ý� says Deb Lillis, who coordinates the team and is on board herself during the maiden trip to Papunya. But in practice, operating complex machines in the wilderness can be a challenge.