Show Me Your World! It’S All About Life and Different Worlds, Opportunities and Views, It’S About Fun and Learning, and It’S About What’S Possible!
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February 2015 http://www.waanyi.org.au Show me your world! It’s all about life and different worlds, opportunities and views, it’s about fun and learning, and it’s about what’s possible! That’s the annual it’s hoped one day to extend the 2011 Show Me Your World initiative to other Gulf communities Tour, hosted by Waanyi such as Normanton, Mornington Aboriginal Corporation, Island, Burketown and Karumba. and offering local kids Tour coordinators Charlene great opportunities to see Cressbrook and Kerrie Foxwell- and experience a range of Norton said the first tour in 2011 activities outside of their was an overwhelming success, with community as a teachers, community members, 2012 reward for good students – the Doomadgee school behaviour and and broader community - and it attendance at has grown from there. school. Kids who have attended share Every year 6 or 7 their experiences with fellow child in Doomadgee students, families and the entire has this community while all reports from opportunity, and Doomadgee State School indicate the tour has had a positive impact 2013 on school attendance and attitude to education. The short term benefits of this program are immediately evident and promising – the children grow remarkably in confidence about themselves and their future. 2014 Welcome to this special edition of the Waanyi Wire featuring the Show Me Your World Tours from 2011 to 2014. The Show Me Your World 2013 2011 2011 Tour is a program brought about by the Waanyi Aboriginal Corporation which provides most of the financial and administrative support. The tour has taken lots of children from different tribes. The Tour also receives support from Doomadgee State School and Griffith University. Doomadgee State School decide which children attend based on attitude and attendance. In 2011, Virgin Airlines sponsored the flights from Townsville to Brisbane. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 the Tour also received funding From left, John Gregory, Nehemiah Watt, Shennika Doomadgee and Tegan from the Gulf Area Social and Doomadgee students in the wave pool at Dreamworld. Doomadgee practising before their Byron lesson with Surfing Australia. Community Development Trust. Lots of people and places Students see support the tour too including MMG who have provided another world flights from Century to By SUSAN FORDE designed as a reward for their attendance this camp,” Ms Aplin said. at school. “They enjoyed the surfing lessons the A GROUP of primary school “The group of 12 was chosen because most and the trip to Dreamworld. Meeting Townsville. children from the remote they were the most regular attendants and, with the Titans players was also great – north-west Queensland because we’re planning on running the you could see the kids were so excited.” community of Doomadgee program again next year, the tour worked Ms Aplin said she and the other QLD travelled to south-east as both a reward for attending school and community chaperones also benefited from To find out more you can Queensland earlier this an incentive to continue doing so. the tour. “I loved spending time with the month to experience city and “There are university scholarships kids – these are kids that we see around coastal life. The camp for 12 children, available for Indigenous school leavers the community but we never really spend called the ‘You Show Me Your World, I’ll but, unless we can address numeracy and any time with them. The older boys were speak to any children or Show You Mine’ tour, was organised as literacy at an early stage, and help kids to looking after the younger boys, it was great part of the community social initiatives of attend school, they’re never going to be to see,” she said. the Waanyi Nation Aboriginal Corporation. able to take advantage of the opportunities “It was just good to get to know them all Camp co-ordinator Dr Kerrie Foxwell, that are there.” a lot better.” parents who have already who works on the Waanyi Nation language The tour was supported by funds from project and at Griffith University’s School of Chaperones the Gulf Area Social Development Trust, Humanities, said the tour was designed to The kids were accompanied on the Waanyi Nation Aboriginal Corporation and show the children what opportunities camp by two teachers from the Northern Project Contracting, Griffith been on the tour! existed for them in the outside world. Doomadgee State School, Faith Wallace University’s School of Humanities, Virgin The camp included visits to three south and Peter Teagle, and three community Australia Airlines, MMG Mines and east Queensland primary schools for a chaperones Dawn Aplin, Lila Cairns and Doomadgee State School. cultural exchange, a tour of 98.9FM Murri Darlene Walden. Dr Foxwell said the aim was to hold the In Doomadgee you could Country, surfing lessons in Byron Bay, Ms Aplin, who is a director of Waanyi camp every year so children from visits from star Gold Coast Titans players, Nation’s commercial company Northern Doomadgee had a consistent incentive to a marine education afternoon, a trip to Project Contracting, said the children had be at school. speak to the school or Dreamworld and an Indigenous ‘heroes’ thoroughly enjoyed themselves on their “We kept saying to the kids ‘these day. visits to Brisbane city, Stradbroke Island, things can all be a part of your world in the “The idea was to introduce the kids to a Byron Bay and Hastings Point in northern future’. So many of them were surprised I range of education, employment and New South Wales. think by the welcome they received from Dawn Aplin. training opportunities that are not available “The idea was to get them out of the the other school kids, and from locally,” Dr Foxwell said. community and tell them to go to high organisations we visited,” he said. “We knew that for these kids to take school and, if they want to come down to “They didn’t expect to be so embraced advantage of these opportunities, they the city in the future, they might feel a bit by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Nehemiah jumps for joy in front of the Tower of Or you can call Charlene need to attend school so the camp was more comfortable about doing that after people down here.” Terror at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. New Titans recruit Beau Champion, left, and fellow new recruit Jamal Idris came to a barbecue Cressbrook, our new with the school group and carried out interviews for Titans TV. Waanyi Aboriginal Corporation Community and Social Development Project Officer, on 07 3129 6777. Former National Rugby League (NRL) players Preston Campbell, left, and Dean Widders with community chaperone Lila Cairns. 2 44 THE KOORI MAIL, WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, 2011. The Voice of Indigenous Australia The Koori Mail, 30 November 2011 (reprinted with permission) 2012 Here is what happens... As soon as the children land in Brisbane, they are taken up to Mt Coot-tha where they can see the entire city and get a sense of where they are. We stay in the middle of the city at a place where we can see all the bright lights. We meet with a local Jagera elder Uncle Des Sandy who welcomes us to 2013 his country. We spend three full days in the city, then head over to Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) for three days where Ngugi elder Uncle Bobby Anderson welcomes the children to country. The children also visit other primary schools where they give a ‘Life In Doomadgee’ presentation and the schools we visit show life where they live. We also visit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses like the radio station 98.9FM and places such as Suncorp Stadium. Then we start to go south to Dreamworld and for surfing lessons with Burra Jurra, which is an Indigenous Learn to Surf run by the Arakwal people of Byron Bay. Every day is jam packed with 2014 adventure and each night the children and adults sleep very well. Wherever we go, the children meet positive Aboriginal role models and the tour is underpinned by a really simple message: Go to school. Get your child in the habit of going to school and they will be eligible to go too when their turn in 3 Grade 6 or 7 comes. 2011 Participants • Nehemiah Watt 2011 • Jay Jay Taylor • Isaiah Walden • Stefan O’Keefe • Tristan Toby • Ezekial King • John Gregory • Martin Evans • Loretta Gilbert • Tegan Doomadgee • Shennika Doomadgee • Emma Roughsey Chaperones: Peter Teagle (DSS), Faith Wallace (DSS), Darlene Gilbert, Dawn Aplin, Lila Cairns Tour Managers: Kerrie Foxwell-Norton, Pekeri Ruska Tour Filmmaker: Niels 2012 Participants 2012 • Hakeem Peter • Alexander George • Ishmael Douglas • Cassandra Diamond • Nicola Diamond • Jardeena Hookey • Nicole Go • Schnynada Karkadoo • Robyn Peter • Tinika Johnny • Shineykwa King • Angela Walden Chaperones: Simon Calder (DSS), Bec Goodhew (DSS), Glennette Diamond, Davina Baker Tour Manager: Kerrie Foxwell-Norton 4 Tour Filmmaker: Rhianna Malezer 2013 Participants • Gene Foster King 2013 • Slade Peter • Kostya Peter • Zipporah Aplin • Lynikka Ah Fat • Rikeah Ah Fat • Della Rose Gallagher • Clarise Foster • Jayvina Dick • Sidney Go • Ah Teisha Hookey • Lakeisha Walden • Rae Evans Chaperones: Simon Calder (DSS), Kylie Cue (DSS), Laurel Douglas, Dawn Aplin, Shirley Chong, Tour Manager: Kerrie Foxwell- Norton Tour Filmmaker: Rhianna Malezer 2014 Participants 2014 • La’Schaya Body • Rowshaune Diamond • Bryher Foster • Naomi Foster-King • Zaccur Walden • Shakaya George • Nakaya Ned • Elliot Aplin • Selward Aplin • Kerrianne Corporal • Timara Douglas • Logan Johnny • Samuel Johnston Teachers: Kylie Cue, Dean Lannen Teachers Aide: Rosemary Foster Community Volunteers: 5 Rhonda Jacob, Vernon Ned Indigenous ‘heroes’ make the days A big part of Show Me Your World is meeting home-grown ‘heroes’ who live and work in the big smoke...here are just some of those who have supported the tour over the years..