After being the victim of extreme racial slurs since arriving in Maitland from war-torn Sudan 15 years ago, Mrs Kuku bravely came forward to tell us her story.

Next came the landslide of blogs, an onslaught of public support and an avalanche of apologies from residents.

A team of Mercury reporters ­continued to tell the story opening up a dialogue across the community.

Read the story here

Adding weight to the unfolding story was Maitland City Council which, after being approached by the Australian Human Rights Commission, joined forces with the collegiate body to promote the provocative Racism. It Stops With Us campaign.

Today, we proudly report that this Maitland campaign has been chosen by the commission as a case study showing the country what can be achieved.

And it all started with a phone call, followed by the passion of our newspaper team to do what is right and stop the wrong.

No one truly knows the pain Mrs Kuku and her family experienced – at times she thought life would be better back in Sudan – but we can, and have, showed her that we care.

The bravery of Mrs Kuku and our commitment to keeping this issue in the headlines does make us proud.

But more than that, it has cemented the city’s abhorrence of racism.