Indigenous Australia


QSA assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia to implement projects that are endorsed by and will benefit their local community. Funding is possible through the Quaker Service Australia Aboriginal Concerns Fund, which relies entirely on generous donations. In order to continue supporting valuable projects like these, we need your continued support.

 

 Kapululangu Aboriginal Women's Association

Cultural Learning Camp

The Kapululangu Women Elders of Balgo in Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert
invite you and/or your female friends to participate in one of their remarkable Culture Camps. Below are the dates for the remainder of 2011.
  • September 5-11 Women’s Culture Learning Camp – 6 days of Community, Ceremony, Connection to Land, and Cultural Awakening workshops.
  • October 3-9 Mothers and Daughters Culture Learning Camp – 6 days, Community, Ceremony, Connection to Land, and Cultural Awakening workshops with mothers with their daughters (aged 12-18)
See the attached Camp Brochure.
 
Please note that:
  • All camps are open to both Indigenous and Not-Indigenous women
  • Attending a Women’s Culture Learning Camp is a pre-requisite before attending a Women’s Law Camp or a Dreaming Track Trek.
  • The April Women’s Culture Learning Camp is closely followed by the Women’s Law Camp for women wishing to attend both.
  • For those mothers who have said that they are interested in attending the Mother and Daughters Camp it has been moved from August to October.
  • Participants can only get to Balgo by 4WD vehicle – yours or hired. A 4WD is essential for the Women’s Law Camp and the Dreaming Track Trek.
  • You are responsible for your own travel to and from Balgo at additional costs – but we assist participants to connect with each other and to share hire car and travel costs.
  • Participant numbers are limited to 20 women for each event.
You’ll find all the information you need in the attached brochure or at www.kapululangu.org
This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime!
 
Apply to attend today.
 
KapululanguWomen's Law and Culture Centre
(Kapululangu Aboriginal Women's Association AC)
PRIVATEMAIL BAG116 BALGO via Halls Creek Western Australia 6770

 

Balgo Women have answers 

A group of women who have answers themselves are the Women of Balgo, a remote community in Western Australia. The Kapululangu Aboriginal Women’s Association has established an intergenerational cultural healing and education program in their community in an effort to protect, improve and enhance the lives of their Indigenous women and children in the region and raise awareness about or counsel those affected by sexual assault.

The “Teaching Culture: Healing People” project supports the Kapululangu elders to teach their cultural knowledge to their younger generations and to run a tjarrtjurra (women’s healing) program for women, men, youth, children and babies. They are achieving this through culture classes, women’s ceremonies, and culture camps. Support for cultural tutors who give up their time to teach at these events is one of the Living Gift options for this year.

Photos: Right: Culture Class, Left: Balgo girls dance in celebration (Credit: Zohl de Ishtar)

 

Mapuru Community, East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

This project has been funded by QSA in consortia with Habitat for Humanity.
Mapuru is home to about 100 people from the Yolgnu nation, living in a dry community who have a strong desire for their children to receive a good education and develop their sense of cultural connection. The community is located in an isolated area with some reliance on light aircraft for access for the provision of supplies and services. During the wet season the community can be cut off by both air and road for months.
The community identified the need for a shelter and storage shed adjacent to the airstrip as a priority. A team from Habitat for Humanity comprising a builder, engineer and three volunteers helped rain community members in construction work. The cyclone proof prefabricated building was made by the Marrara Christian College and they also provided transport to the site as their contribution. 20 community members actively participated in the construction of the building, which tool an estimated 650 volunteer hours to complete.
The security now has the shelter and storage shed close to the airstrip, which will be of benefit to the community for decades to come.
 

Kornar Winmil Yunti – Aboriginal Men’s Camp at Tumby Bay mid 2013

This project is to build and strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal families and communities via the running of an Aboriginal Men’s Camp. This project recognises that although social and emotional wellbeing are recent ideas, Aboriginal belief systems are based on complex social relationships in which individuals are intimately bound to each other and their environment, and that those belief systems inform all aspects of Aboriginal people’s lives, including health and wellbeing.
 
Between 120-150 men from Victoria who are actively involved with a men’s group or connected to the community or family kinship will be selected to participate. The week-long camp will also include a range of health workers to attend and carry out health checks and provide relevant health information. There will also be a cultural Advisor who has an important role pre and during the camp. This role is to obtain permission to come on to country, look at possible kinship issues and maintain cultural safety on the camp. Post camp evaluation reports, as well as video -taped interviews will be used to inform future camps at other locations.
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