James 'Michael' Widdy Welsh is wearing a St George-Illawarra Dragons cap and a sparkle in his eyes.
We have never met before but he takes my hand in his.
"I'm not used to people being kind to me," he tells me.
As his words sink in, he places his arms around my neck.
"C'mon love, give me a hug." Nine years of his precious childhood were spent without any form of affection at the Kinchela Boys Home in Kempsey in northern New South Wales.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-29/national-redress-scheme-child-abuse-survivor/9915390
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-29/national-redress-scheme-child-abuse-survivor/9915390