You might know Rebekka Battista for her work as the Our Kids charity fundraising coordinator. The Lismore local who found love at the Gollan Hotel is also a trained chef and a pastor with the Lismore Centre Church. Rebekka’s long journey of helping her own sick child, led to her helping many others.

Now, Rebekka Battista will be donating a kidney to her first born son, Isaak (21), on December 10. 

“Isaak was born with renal failure and received a kidney transplant at 8 years old from his father Gianpiero," Rebekka said. 

“After 14 years, it’s not going so well and his body is rejecting the kidney and he needs another one.

“In the last six months, we did tests and found my kidney was compatible – it’s amazing that two parents are compatible.

“Our prayer is that this one lasts 20 years. 

“We were always told that the first transplant would last 10-15 years and we nearly got there. I’ve known others who’ve had one over 25 years - every case is unique.

Going in for major surgery to save her son’s life doesn’t faze her.

“Gianpiero did it and he’s lived a normal life,” she said. “He’s active and the aim is to stay healthy as well, that’s my plan too. 

“I’ll be in recovery for the first month and won’t be running a marathon.”

Rebekka takes part in the Samson Challenge.



Our Kids

Rebekka has been working for local charity Our Kids, to raise money for equipment and facilities for Lismore Base Hospital’s children’s services.

Her journey into the role began when Isaak was sick in 2003 and she and Gianpiero spent a lot of time at the in the hospital’s children’s ward with Isaak for treatment.

“Isaak was in the special care nursery and when we were told he had renal damage, the doctor on call was Doctor Chris Ingall and he saved Isaak’s life,” Rebekka said.

“It was at the same time that Chris was setting up Our Kids and as parents we spent a lot of time with him. 

“I’ve always been community minded and the children’s ward was like our second home. 

“I saw the need for Our Kids and I wanted to help the cause.

“At the time, Gianpeiro and I were setting up a restaurant and that’s when the Our Kids calendar was being launched and they asked Isaak to be in it – so I helped to sell them.

“After that, the job as Our Kids fundraiser came up and I applied for it and got it.”

One of the big challenges for Rebekka was raising a million dollars to ensure that the Our Kids Our House project could be built.

“Our House was to provide accommodation in Lismore for families and people who needed to stay near the hospital while receiving cancer treatment,” Rebekka said.

“It was a $5.6 million project. We had a $3.6 million grant from the Federal Government and a half a million from the State Government, and I needed to raise the rest.

“I raised $1 million in 18 months because we have a beautiful supportive community who they saw the need to get it built.”

Rebekka raises money at a Melbourne Cup charity event.

Fundraising

Before she was a fundraiser, Rebekka was working as a chef in her own business with Gianpiero.

She said making the transition from being a chef to a fundraiser required a lot of the same skills. 

“You have to plan think on your feet and be a relationship person,” she said.

“One day, I might be addressing a boardroom and an hour later I might be in a service hub or school – it’s a big learning curve to address different people.

“To be a fundraiser, you need to believe in the cause you are asking for - if you don’t believe, you won’t achieve your goals. 

“You need to know the people you are asking from, so you can align the people with the cause.”

Rebekka said she researches companies and businesses before organising fundraisers – whether they are golf days, lavish balls, or the Samson Challenge which asks sporting groups to align with the cancer cause.

“Over time, you establish partnerships – fundraising is all about relationships, understanding business and bringing everything together in a way that is mutually beneficial.”

Rebekka, Gianpiero, Isaak and Nathan at Nathan's recent graduation.

Life, love and marriage

Rebekka was born and grew up in Lismore. She went Wyrallah Road Public School and Lismore Public School.

“I’m a Lismore girl – my parents have been here a long time,” she said.

Rebekka said she had to do Year 12 at school twice.

“We had an excellent time partying the first time I tried to do year 12,” she laughed.  

“Then I applied to uni to be a nurse, but I vomit at the sight of blood, so then I thought I’d like to join Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and I went to study at bible college – an international, interdenominational college for young people. 

“The college had a big focus on missionary work and I spent my second year there in Denver, Colarado.

“When I was in high school, mum was the mum manager of Caroona rest home and my job was cleaning and domestics. It paid my way to college.

“I cleaned toilets from 15-21 and had fun with the staff there - that was my training ground.”

Rebekka said she came back from America because her friends were missing her.

“I came home for a visit and my friends promised to pay my way back to America, but when I came home, I met Gianpiero.”

Rebekka in Nepal, as part of her outreach work.

Love in the Gollan

“People think we met in Italy, but we met at the Gollan pub in Lismore,” Rebekka said.

“Gianpiero had immigrated from Milan in Italy in 1994 and when I met him in the Gollan in 1995, I thought he looked pretty cute.

“It wasn’t the moment I fell in love with him, but it was the moment he fell in love with me.”

Three years later, Gianpiero and Rebekka married.

Gianpiero and business

After returning to Lismore, Rebekka worked different jobs, starting with working at the local cinema, then entering the hospitality industry and working in restaurants.

The hospitality connection between Gianpiero and Rebekka sparked the beginning of their restaurant business together.

“We had food in common,” Rebekka laughed. 

“Gianpiero had built Café Giardino with his uncle, and when we got together, he sold his portion of the restaurant and we set up a wine bar Café Verde in the old Star Court Theatre in 1997.”

The couple went on to run a series of restaurants – starting with one at Mary Gilhooley’s, before running the Left Bank Café, which was attached to the old art gallery on Molesworth Street.

“We thought it’s important if you own a restaurant to be a chef, so I did my chef training and in my final year, I topped the state,” Rebekka said.

“That’s when I was eight months pregnant with Isaak.

“We bought the Left Bank and we had our first born son, thinking everything was happy and normal – unfortunately, that was not the case.

“Eventually, the Left Bank building which was owned by the Council went out to tender, and even though we’d run it for 12 years, we didn’t get to keep it.

“So Gianpiero went onto lecturing and I continued my work with Our Kids

“It was time for a rest – I had a sick child and then I fell pregnant again with Nathan.”

Helping is healing

Rebekka said having a sick child just accentuated her desire to help others.

“I come from a family that’s always given back – my grandparents, mum and dad were always community minded.

“Helping the children’s ward was important to me. Just because we live in Lismore, a regional town – why should we come second when it comes to health care? 

“Our Kids was a lovely way to focus my attention and was a healing for me because after Isaak. I also had post-natal depression.

“Helping others helped me to pull through that.”

Rebekka at the Centre Church.

Faith and love

During her time in Lismore, Rebekka also become a pastor in the Centre Church.

“That’s my first love,” she said.

“I preach on weekends and lead the worship - My faith is love.”

In these times where the world can seem a little crazy, Rebekka said praying to God and believing in Jesus grounds her.

“It gives me great hope even when we’ve been through a lot.

“Even through the low times, I can focus and trust that it’s going to be ok given and it’s given me a foundation to stand on and fall back on.

“We are all created to believe in something – I believe in god.

“It’s a lifetime journey to work that out. 

“It keeps me humble too. We are not all perfect.”

Dreams and ministry

One of Rebekka’s dreams in life was to visit Africa, which she had an opportunity to do recently.

“When Isaak’s class finished year 12, they wanted to do schoolies in Africa,” she said.

“So I had the great honour of going and being mum and pastor and work over there.

“That was incredible – and in January this year we took a team to Nepal and worked in an orphanage over there.

“One of the highlights for me was helping people of other nations who aren’t doing it well.”

Now, Rebekka’s youngest son Nathan (17) has just graduated from school and she’s just been to his formal.

Perhaps hailed as one of the most influential women in our area, only the future will tell what Rebekka will do next.