Annual Report 2013 - 2014:
Kornar Winmil Yunti located in Adelaide, using $20,526 from QSA's Aboriginal Concerns Fund
This project expands the work of earlier projects, which aimed to build and strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal families and communities via the running of an Aboriginal Men’s Camp. The residential camp was very influential in addressing the needs of the men from all over the State, who then requested that interim support would also be beneficial, hence this current project which is expanding the training and support provided for the leaders of men’s groups and programs so that they can play a crucial role in supporting the men in their own community to heal and grow. Kornar Winmil Yunti has expertise in running workshops and supports the Aboriginal community’s desire for change. Aboriginal Elders are being encouraged to take a proactive role within this project.
Annual Report 2012 - 2013:
Kornar Winmil Yunti, based in Adelaide, South Australia. Project costs $60,445, using QSA’s Indigenous Concerns Fund only.
Project results
QSA has provided funding to support the running of a second residential Aboriginal Men’s Health Gathering, located at Tumby Bay. As a result of a literature review, and the experiences from the inaugural men’s camp, there is a need to deal with many matters such as family and relationship issues, violence, grief and loss, and the complete breakdown of the social and emotional health of the men, and how it impacts on their families. The participants are encouraged throughout the camp to examine their own personal hurt and find alternative ways to address what for some have been lifelong patterns of violence, abuse and neglect.
Some of the men come from urban regions, others from remote rural communities. Together they discuss the issues, and share hurts and ideas in small group discussions, maintain a personal diary of their emotional and spiritual journey during the week, and take part in a video evaluation of the camp. Additional support is provided by various health workers who are able to offer diagnostic assessments, professional health advice and treatment.
It is also planned that a program of on-going support will be considered, by providing additional training to some of the men to become community leaders for more frequent and localised meetings of the camp participants. This is as a direct result of feed-back from the men that regionally based men’s groups would provide the best model of engagement for them, to undertake a range of activities to deliver strong positive health and well-being outcomes effectively and efficiently. Aboriginal ownership of the groups is a must, as are strong positive role models that includes the Elders, to create a future for the young members of the community.
Challenges / Issues
Interest by health service providers is low, with little importance given to overcoming the culturally insensitive and intimidating nature of the experience for Aboriginal men.
Access and equity issues are largely ignored for Aboriginal people.
Many Aboriginal men are marginalised within the communities, often present with complex needs which are not met by mainstream health services
Mainstream services are largely inflexible, GP driven and structured so that management of chronic or ongoing health issues does not happen for Aboriginal communities.
Mainstream medical and support staff are rarely Aboriginal and / or male and in many cases there are poor cross cultural and social / behaviour skills for effective service delivery.
Photo credit - Kornar Winmil Yunti
Community Awareness project, on-going, and funded by QSA and AusAID
Project results
This project is based around presentations to raise awareness within the community of the issues surrounding development and Australia’s aid program. A total of five presentations have been prepared for use by QSA Management Committee members and others covering topics of aid and development; poverty alleviation; development and climate change; gender and development; and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition each set of speaker’s notes is accompanied by a list of additional website resources for those participants who wish for more information.
The preparation of the power point presentations, discussion points and presenters notes have taken some time to be prepared in order to provide the degree of detail to be useful without overwhelming either the audience or the presenter. From the initial presentations given, the large majority of participants have indicated an increase in overall perception and knowledge about the role of development. Further work will be continued, and QSA has been fortunate to be offered pro bono professional analysis of the evaluation forms completed by the participants.
Lessons learnt
The power point presentation on each of the topics selected is designed to be modified and interpreted by the presenters to take into account the age and background of the intended audience. To date the audiences in the pilot presentations have been positive. They have attended the presentation from choice and in a positive framework. There was some hesitation that some participants might view the presentation as a means of raising an alternative viewpoint, and although some discussions were high spirited, none became overly political or confrontational. Initial feedback from the participants was more content driven, and changes to the power point slides were made as a result. Some asked for more information, being unsure of appropriate and accurate websites from which to draw on. As a result a resources list for each topic was prepared and is available if required.
Challenges / Issues
One key issue has been in determining the most relevant and suitable way to demonstrate the information that is to be imparted. This has been an issue to ensure the level of information is sufficient without being overwhelming to the audience. For this reason the resources list was prepared as an adjunct for those who wish for more information. Having a range of topics was also considered to be important, allowing for a breadth of discussion if groups wished to have more than one presentation.
Maparu 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.
