VACCHO DEC-FEB 2018

GEGAC Bairnsdale Opens Brabuwooloong Aboriginal Medical Centre

news Dec - Feb 2018

Elder Aunty Rhonda Dinsdale with Dala Yooro 3 & 4 year old kinder kid dancers Inset: Alice Pepper, dance coordinator (photos: Trevor Pearce and Graeme Fletcher)

The official grand opening of the Brabuwooloong Medical Centre at Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative (GEGAC)took place on the 6th December 2017.

The state of the art facility was designed with the future in mind, comprising of five GP consulting rooms, triage, procedure and meeting rooms, along with a major dental centre. Maternity services and chronic disease services are also a priority in local Koori health care.

The grand opening of the centre was a day for the local Aboriginal Community to celebrate and reflect on what began in the 1970s with founding members working together to establish

GEGAC, and what the future holds for the local community.

In celebration of the opening GEGAC had local dancers from Dala Yoroo Kindergarten along with Elders and special guests including East Gippsland Shire Mayor Cr. Joe Rettino and Tim Bull Victorian Parliamentary Member for Gippsland, Shadow Minister for Disability and Aboriginal Affairs.

This was a very proud day for the community of Gippsland and East Gippsland, the founding members and the families associated with past founding members.

You can contact GEGAC on 03 5150 0700 or Brabuwooloong Medical Centre on 03 5150 0760.

More photos on page 2

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc.

VACCHO is the the peak body for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people living in Victoria

Vibrant, healthy, selfdetermining Aboriginal communities

Top: Founder’s and family members past and present of GEGAC and the Brabuwooloong Medical Centre.

Inset (top left CCW): Elders Aunty Kath Solomon Aunty Rhonda Dinsdale Aunty Glenis Solomon Aunty Flo Hood and Aunty Helen Morgan (seated), Dala Yooro 3 & 4 year oldd kinder kids dancing for the opening, Uncle Norm Baxter and Susan Baxter receiving a plaque on behalf of Aunty Nola Baxter (deceased ) one of the founders of GEGAC, Dala Yooro dancers.

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Contents

01 GEGAC BAIRNSDALE OPENS BRABUWOOLOONG ABORIGINAL MEDICAL CENTRE 03 KIRRAE HEALTH SERVICE TURNS 40

BUILDING ON GOOD WORK 04 DJILLAY NGALU EMPOWERS OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO STAY IN SCHOOL

06 FRESH IDEAS TO HEALESVILLE 07 STRONG KOORI FIRST STEPS FOR LIFE 08 THE UNSTOPABLE MINDA MURRAY 10 GOOD LUCK JILL AND WELCOME IAN 11 OUT AND ABOUT

Kirrae Health Service turns 40

VACCHO congratulates Kirrae Health Service on celebrating 40 amazing years of service to the Framlingham and surrounding areas last December. Celebrations included a lovely dinner and entertainment from Lee Morgan, and Kirrae’s very own Koko Blokes dancers (left).

www.kirraehealth.com

Photo presentation, staff interview clips and delicious anniversary cake (cut by Nonnie Harradine, Practice Manager) were enjoyed by all!

Building on good work We welcomed proud Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm as our new CEO to VACCHO at the end of January, taking over from Jill Gallagher AO for 18 months while she is the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner.

Ian says he wants to take a strengths-based approach to Aboriginal health.

“There is a lot of good being done in Aboriginal health and headway is being made in improving the longer-term health outcomes for Aboriginal people. I want to build on that,” Ian said.

“Being a proud Aboriginal man I want the coming generations, young people like my kids Jasper and Isabel, to not only take pride in their background but to live a life with no difference in their life expectancy to non-Aboriginal Victorians.

“There are many ways to achieve this, including ensuring self-determination for Aboriginal people and supporting community controlled organisations such as VACCHO’s Members around Victoria.

“Our Communities know what is best for our

people, and we want to ensure we all have access to culturally safe health and wellbeing services.

The evidence shows these kind of services support Aboriginal people to be healthier, whether that be from a mental health point of view or other key areas such as reducing tobacco and alcohol use or increasing exercise and healthy food intake to reduce cardiovascular disease.

“It’s important we build on what’s working and assess what isn’t to improve those areas. We’ve got a lot of work to do but I know that we, the VACCHO staff, will continue to work hard to ensure our people have a brighter future.”

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DJILLAY NGALU empowers our young people to stay in school

The East Gippsland Aboriginal Health Cooperative Djillay Ngalu (Jil lay na lu) ‘Healthy Together’, has begun a two-year pilot program for Year 7 Koori youth.

design professional to provide input in the development of the new Program logo.

leading up to the 8th Annual Cape Conran Koori Surf Comp, held on Wednesday 17 January.

A fun and challenging canoe session on the Brodribb River, facilitated by Tony Paganella, Program Coordinator set the stage for valuable discussions and active participation by all students.

The crew from the Gippsland Tobacco Action and Healthy Lifestyle Team educated and engaged students in healthrelated choices.

Students recently attended an action packed two-day camp held at the Snowy River Year 9 Leadership School – Marlo Campus.

The Richmond Football Club - Korin Gamadji Institute (means grow and emerge in Wathaurong) - delivered the Richmond Emerging Aboriginal Leadership (REAL) Connect Program facilitated by Thara Brown, Program Manager and Thalia Biggs, Program Coordinator (REAL program alumni), which had 14 yearsevens building on their communication skills to achieve collaborative outcomes.

The 2018 year-sevens, workshopped with role models and facilitators including Dixon Patten - Director of Bayila Creative, artist and graphic

Jordie Campbell and the crew (Kate and Rikki) from Surfing Victoria’s Indigenous Program, facilitated on-the-beach surf awareness and rescue training

Yangan Ngalu (Moving together) is the result of the valued support and contribution of many caring individuals in the areas of Education, Justice and Health.

From identifying our target group (Year 7s) the Koori Education Support Officers have been vital in getting information distributed to families. The ongoing positive relationship with families will be important and influences the effectiveness, to help our participants grow in ability to make their best choices.

The program seeks to provide a range of positive experiences that support the development of decision making and communication skills in our youth. With the introduction of positive role models and Koori Buddies, young people can build confidence to navigate and successfully transition to a new and larger school environment at Orbost, Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale Secondary Colleges.

For more information on the pilot program contact Tony on tonyp@ dn.org.au or 0447 372 097.

Continued on next page VACCHO NEWS September - November 2017

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diverse mobs bringing fresh ideas to healesville Staff (L-R): Roslyn Jenkins - Executive Assistant/ Administration Coordinator, Shenae Voce Youth Engagement Worker, Merryn Auldist - Support Worker , Anne Jenkins CEO, Judy Smith - Oral Health Worker, Nikki Madgwick Community Engagement Worker, Grace Allan - Social Emotional Wellbeing Worker, Ralph Hume - Men’s Worker

VACCHO met Nikki Madgwick, Healesville Indigenous Community Services Association’s Community Engagement Worker at the Council of Australian Governments Close the Gap and Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework Refresh.

After getting to know about the innovative work she and the team at Healesville were up to we knew we had to interview Nikki for VACCHO News.

I’m Worimi/Biripi so I’m midnorth coast, New South Wales.

I was born up there but I’ve lived almost my whole life on Wurundjeri country so I’m really blessed that I’ve been granted safe passage on Wurundjeri land, as well as having Wurundjeri Elders share their knowledge and culture with me. Aunty Dot Peters has been a wonderful mentor throughout most of my life.

I think because Coranderrk Mission brought so many people from different mobs together, we have such a diverse group here in Healesville. We have representation from mobs

across the Koolin Nation as well as interstate.

Community Engagement was a field I was really excited to work in. I never really imagined that I could work in a space where I could really embrace my cultural identity and learn more about it, while also helping people learn more about their cultural identity.

It hadn’t really crossed my mind when I was going through Uni that this would be a possibility, actually working in a culturally safe space. I did a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in literature and philosophy.

Now I am everyone’s cheerleader.

I support people, find their dreams and achieve them.

We offer lots of programs and services at HICSA. We have a young women’s group called Lath-Ganj and that will run Tuesdays. We have Bush Tucker and the Community Art Group which run on Mondays, our Young Warriors runs on Tuesdays for young boys in Community with the aim to support them to stay in or get back to school, or to create a pathway that’s right

for them. Wednesdays we have the Youth Club. On Thursdays we have our Men’s Group where participants come from both the inner and outer East with support from their local Indigenous organisations.

We have an Introduction to Computers class for older Community members. We have Game On, which is another youth program that explores potential careers in game-making, App developing and/or marketing. We were trying to look at different career opportunities that might not have been explored, when an award winning Australian gaming company said yes to having a stall at our Career Expo in 2016. After that we continued communication and Game On was born - it’s kind of like a gaming book club. We have 12-year-olds developing Apps!

On Fridays we have our Play Group and Tucker Bag program that provides around 150 Community members with fresh fruit and vegetables as well as pantry items. We also do a monthly Community Lunch which

strong KOORI first steps for life Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation has a new Education Leader at its Koori First Steps Preschool, Samantha Burgess-Hillier.

VACCHO sat down for a yarn with Sam to see what’s ahead for our bubs.

Hi, I am the preschool teacher and educational leader for Koori First Steps. I’ve been working with children for the past 10 years in different roles, from mobile early childhood education [directoring] to preschool teaching.

Here I go through the whole process of enrolling, parent/ teacher interviews with the families to find out what they are looking for from an early childhood service. I do my own assessments of the children to develop individual learning plans. These plans are put in

place to help support kids in school readiness, resilience, numeracy and anything that they might need in life.

Are these plans part of a more holistic approach where you have much closer contact with families?

Yes, certainly. I am very passionate about Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory in which community, family and the environment around the child shape who they are. I work very collaboratively with parents; interviews before anybody even walks in the door so I can get background, and talking with any case workers and support services that parents and carers access.

So kids can come here from the ages of three to five for free. Most of them are in Wodonga, but now branching

out to Albury families as well and have a couple enrolled.

We’ve got 26 kids enrolled, three staff and an additional support worker for children with additional needs. We have a wide variety of children who come in, some with complex needs, so we do assessments; talk to paediatricians, support services and whoever else they might need - all to get the right additional support workers.

What do you think the biggest opportunity is for Koori First Steps?

The biggest opportunity is to help these children bridge the gap to be set up ready for school.

For information or to enrol your bub at Koori First Steps go to https://mungabareena.org. au/koori-first-steps-pre-school or call 02 6024 4228.

Staff (L-R): Samantha Burgess-Hillier, Janine Ramage, Katrina French and Vicki Kurth

averages about 50-60 people. It’s an informal setting for Community to sit down, have lunch and meet with service providers.

Service providers get to meet one another so they can help their clients engage with the right people in culturally responsive organisations. It also provides an opportunity for service providers

to network and look at ways they can collaborate to add value and avoid duplication. For HICSA staff it gives us the opportunity to find out who is doing what and how we can link our Community members into their services if we think they are culturally safe and appropriate. Service providers say “You know this is fantastic. I wish

more places did something like this. Where you can just sit down and have some nice food, have a good chat and meet people, actually meet them and get to know them” If you want more information on the deadly work Nikki and the team at HICSA do, go to www.hicsa.org

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the unstopable MINDA MURRAY After hearing Minda Murray speak at a VACCHO staff day, we though that Victoria needed to know about this Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba dynamo.

materialistic; having a low impact on the world and appreciating everything that you have even when it’s not much.

From then on, we moved up to Balranald, outback NSW where we lived on the mission up there in the bus. Then we moved into town into one of the Lands Council houses and dad worked with the Lands Council.

So I’ve – from a very young age – been around community and the politics that goes with it. So I know a lot of people across a broad range of areas and I’m referred to as “Reg Murray’s daughter” because he also knows a lot of people.

Hi, my name is Minda Murray and I’m the Aboriginal Inclusion Coordinator for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. I’ve been here for eight months and I’ve got a 10 year background in national resource management. I went to uni and did Environmental Science and Conservation major at Charles Sturt Uni in Albury. I started my career with this Department, back when it was the Department of Sustainability and Environment, as a firefighter on the ground. I’ve done other things in between, but it’s good to be back.

I’m also – in my spare time – a full-time athlete. I ride for the Rush Women’s National Team, a cycling team – and we ride national road series and occasionally I get the opportunity to go overseas and do other things.

I’m a Criterium specialist, so it’s road racing not velodrome or track, although, I do that as well. It’s like short – it could be around the block and there’s 60 to 100 people and we race for an hour as hard as we can. It’s fast paced, it’s exciting, it’s short, it’s ferocious – there’s head butting, elbowing, swearing, lots of excitement that usually ends up in a sprint at the end.

I’ve been to America and Europe – Italy – thus far and hopefully heading back over to both those places this year. Both in the same year, so that’ll be exciting.

I’ll do the Belgian Kermesses and from that point onwards – the whole thing is going to be an adventure, but the whole purpose of it is a soul-searching mission.

I’ve spent a lot of my life working towards setting myself up in career and setting myself up in life. [I’ve] taken things very seriously and after all that time and all that effort, and some personal things that I’ve gone through, this is the first time in my life that I’ve reduced the complexity of my life and I’m able to go and do that rite of passage which is to travel. To find out who I am, removed from everything else that influences me.

To find out the person underneath all the noise.

I was born in Williamstown, lived the first two years of my life in a motor home in a caravan park.

It was my grounding. We lived in and out of that bus most of my life. So most of my childhood, was spent in a motor home. It was good because it taught me the importance of not being

He’s a fascinating man; I’m so proud to be Reg Murray’s daughter. He worked with Fred Hollows on the national trachoma program before I was born. Dad’s a black fella, mum’s white – she’s Scottish – so I’ve got the beauty of two different cultures there. Both my parents have given me a strong foundation in life.

We moved to Barmah, it’s now a national park but it was a state forest back then. Dad started working for Parks Victoria and we lived in the bush in a Parks Victoria house living in the absolute heart of Yorta Yorta Country – I didn’t realise it at the time, but looking back now that really shaped and grounded me as to who I am, what I appreciate and what I value, and that connection to Country. That connection to Country, for me, if I ever feel ungrounded or stressed or going through a tough time, all I’ve got to do is go back to Country, sit on a river and I come out of it just feeling at peace.

It was tough then, being a young person getting through school and then to uni? Was that journey a difficult one or was that an easier part of it all?

I went to Nathalia Secondary College a very small school – about 180 kids and when I went through my VCE years I started working. I’ve always been pretty hard headed and driven, fiercely independent – which drove my parents nuts – because I was “out of the nest” at about 15-16 years old. I milked cows every morning and every night and did school during the day and did VCE, played netball on the weekends, as well as riding horses seven days a week. I was year 10, 11, 12 then went straight to uni. I went to one of dad’s workmates – I still tell him that he’s the most influential person in shaping my life because of the advice he gave me back then.

That was John Kneebone. I said, “Bones, what’s the best way that I can get into being a ranger?” He said to go to Charles Sturt Uni and do this course, do fire fighting over the summers, get your experience and you’ll be set. That’s what I did. I followed it to a tee. I did my course; I loved it. I studied really hard. I was so nervous before I went; I was terrified, “Can I actually do this? What’s uni?”

I had no idea. I’d watched college movies from America and they all seemed too stressed and they carried around these massive stacks of books; and how intellectual do you have to be to finish a uni degree? I didn’t know if I could do it.

Then I got there and there was O-Week and I got a bunch of friends around me and it was so different to anything that I’ve ever done. It was so accessible. It was not what I thought it would be. It was so enjoyable that you were so keen to learn that it wasn’t burdensome. You had people who were enthusiastic about it around you as well. It’s not like VCE where it’s a pain in the arse to do an exam; you’re so interested in the course work that you want to do it and everyone else is the same.

So I studied really hard and I loved the course.

I got the Dean’s Awards, but it came at a price and the price was

my health. I didn’t do any physical activity and I got really big – heaviest I’ve ever been.

I started walking; I lost a few kilos. I moved into town and joined a gym and it just started this fitness journey.

I got my first full-time job before I even left uni. I was in my last semester and I went for a job that was back on my own Country.

The timing – I couldn’t ignore the timing – it was like a sign from the universe saying, “You’ve got to do this.” Back on my own Country, working for NSW Parks and Wildlife as an Aboriginal ranger – that was awesome.

push myself. I don’t measure my success against others with bike racing and in life generally, it’s my journey and not anyone else’s. I’m not competing with anyone other than myself.

Will the cycling ever stop?

I have a ‘gap year’ of four months, I don’t have a partner for the first time in my life and that’s why this is the best time for me to do my rite of passage. Other people, they finish university or they finish school and they go and travel – I’ve never done that.

So for the first time in my life, I’m

Image © Kirsty Baxter

My gym instructor rode a bike and he’s like, “You should get a bike, it’s great for weight loss.”

Cycling opened up a whole new social network; it opened up a whole other universe to me that has become a huge part of who I am.

After a few years with the Government I left my position and worked with my partner in the bike industry for two years. I didn’t even know whether I still wanted to do it [Ranger]. I’d lost all passion for it.

without encumbrance to anything, really. Finally, with a job to gift me the freedom to go and travel, but still remain secure. [Minda is off for American and European racing and then travel] So what’s your focus for the future?

I was like, “Oh my god, have I made this massive mistake by doing this whole bloody degree” but I had to.

Everything happens for a reason – I’m a big believer in that.

It’ll be serving my mob. I can’t speak for anybody else. For me it feels like I’ve inherited a responsibility and I want to make my ancestors proud, and the ancestors that suffered so much with European arrival – I don’t want that to be in vain. I want to make them proud and honour them, I guess. Yeah, I want to make my family and people proud.

I wanted to go overseas and be a bike racer. I wanted to live that life, I just wanted to see how far I could

To keep up with Minda follow her on Instagram: @mmurra25 or Twitter: @mmurra25.

VACCHO NEWS December - February 2018

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Good luck Jill and welcome Ian History was made at VACCHO in late January as we said good luck to Jill Gallagher AO, as she moved into her role as Victoria’s Treaty Advancement Commissioner, and welcomed Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm as our CEO for the next 18 months.

We marked this special occasion with a smoking ceremony and traditional dancing by VACCHO staff including Jill’s son Jesse Williams and her grandson Izaiah.

Jill was naturally moved by the ceremonies and Ian said he had never had a welcome like it.

Our resident photographer took some beautiful snaps of the ceremonies and we’ve also made a short video so our Members can share in the day with us.

You can view it by typing this link into your browser: https://goo.gl/gFEC4w.

Bendigo SEWB Gathering 30 November 2017 Bendigo

Victorian SEWB Workers visit the new Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative premises

Dental Health Services Victoria & VACCHO MOU resigning 18 December 2017 VACCHO

Jill Gallagher AO - VACCHO CEO and Dr Deborah Cole - DHSV CEO

National Closing the Gap and Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework Refresh 31 January 2018 Korin Gamaji Institute VACCHO staff

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VACCHO NEWS September - November 2017

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VACCHO Board Members John Mitchell: Chairperson Karen Heap: Vice Chairperson John Gorton: Board Member Michael Graham: Board Member Rod Jackson: Board Member Jason Saunders: Board Member Suzie Squires: Board Member

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VACCHO Members • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Aboriginal Community Elders Services Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service Ballarat & District Aboriginal Co-operative Bendigo & District Aboriginal Co-operative Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service Bubup Wilam for Early Learning Aboriginal Child and Family Centre Budja Budja Aboriginal Co-operative Cummeragunja Housing and Development Aboriginal Corporation (Viney Morgan AMS) Dandenong & District Aborigines Co-operative Dhauwurd Wurrung Elderly and Community Health Service Gippsland & East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative Gunditjmara Aboriginal Co-operative Healesville Indigenous Community Services Association Kirrae Health Service Inc. Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Service Note »» Auspiced

• Lakes Entrance Aboriginal Health Association • Melbourne Aboriginal Youth Sport & Recreation Co-operative • Mallee District Aboriginal Services »» Kerang Aboriginal Community Centre »» Swan Hill and District Aboriginal Co-operative • Moogji Aboriginal Council East Gippsland Inc. • Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation • Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-operative • Ngwala Willumbong Cooperative • Njernda Aboriginal Corporation • Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation »» Central Gippsland Aboriginal Health Services • Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative Ltd • Victorian Aboriginal Health Service • Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative • Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation • Weenthunga Health Network Inc VACCHO News Summer 2018

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