Community Stories
Young mums in the frame
An ICV volunteer photographer has been working members of ‘The Strong Young Mums’ initiative in Narromine, regional NSW.
The program supports teenage mothers in the community who leave school because of pregnancy.
Kitchen garden inspires better health
Eating well on the aged pension isn’t easy. Too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seniors also suffer diabetes. A project in Woodridge south of Brisbane has tried to address both concerns. It supported a community of seniors to grow their own fresh produce and learn from each other about healthy eating and cooking.
A new chapter for Cherbourg museum
Exciting things are happening in Cherbourg, northwest of Brisbane - a community ICV is working with.
The Ration Shed offers tours and educational programs for schools, institutions and other visitors while also providing a space for the Cherbourg community to remember its history and celebrate achievements.
Cooking up a storm.
“A poster boy” is how one ICV volunteer describes young Indigenous chef Daniel Walton, the NT Government Career Young Achiever for 2011.
Twenty seven year old Daniel, whose mother Georgie is a Traditional Owner of Kakadu, is running the Santa Fe Restaurant and kitchen attached to a tavern in suburban Darwin.
Preserving the past
Developing and maintaining the heart of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is the aim of an Arrernte woman and a former NSW north coast resident now living in Alice Springs.
Tucked away in a room at CAAMA, Sylvia Purrurle-Neale and ICV volunteer Jody are working hard to systematise a veritable gold mine of visual and audio material of Indigenous culture from throughout Australia.
Back to Mer with jobs
Providing employment for Mer Island residents and attracting community members to return are the principal aims of an ICV project with the Island’s Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC).
PBC Chair Douglas Falen Passi approached ICV to assist with a funding application aimed at creating for a more efficient office
Improvements such as Internet access will allow the organisation to become more involved in industries such as fishing and eco-tourism.
Printing for fun and profit
Jasmine Crea grew up in a major city and was confronted by how Indigenous people in remote places lacked access to services. That realisation took her to remote Warruwi on Goulburn Island in the NT where she ran a screen printing workshop.
ICV’s project was backed by the West Arnhem Shire Council and the Dutch Embassy.
Making up
ICV is an organisation based on strong values and a philosophy of capacity building and sustainability.
As an ICV staff member, I believe we should practice what we preach, so I jumped at the chance in March to be part of a project on Goulburn and Croker Islands in West Arnhem Land.
We held beauty therapy workshops with school girls aged from 11 to 16 with the workshops also open to the ladies of the community
Making up for self esteem
Whether it is urban Australia or on an island in Australia’s northern waters - a bit of lippy, make up and nail polish, goes a long way in helping a young woman’s self-esteem and education.
This was the case for teenage girls on Croker and Goulburn Islands.
A project involving deportment and grooming for young women was put together by the West Arnhem Shire Council in partnership with Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV).
What I get from volunteering - by Bruce Bland
Having spent a large part of my working life as an economist, project management and managing director in places around the world, I decided I just wantedd to put something back into the community.
I’m now 69. I first came into contact with Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) around 2000 which coincided with my semi-retirement. I have since been involved in a number of projects.
Focussing on life
The people of Poruma Island in the Torres Strait as well as its rich flora and fauna have been recorded by a young resident whose “natural talent” with a camera was encouraged by a Melbourne-based volunteer with ICV.
Despite having no formal training with a camera, Lewis Cook who has a mild intellectual disability spent around a fortnight working with architect Nancy Lau who has been involved in two ICV projects.
“Lewis has a natural talent with photography and takes photographs of most events that occur on Poruma Island. He showed me his significant collection of CD’s with photos on them. There must have been at least 50 discs in a huge plastic tub from over 5 years!” Nancy explained.
Traditional culture strengthened with the young in Queensland’s capital
Suburban Brisbane was the scene for an ICV project which helped Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children re-connect with their culture and traditions.
The Binambi Barambah camps held in Brisbane’s north, are the brainchild of respected elder Ruth Hegarty and her late husband, and are aimed at children aged between seven to 16 years.
Aunty Ruth says it became clear that many of the children who had moved with their parents to the Queensland capital were in danger of losing their culture.
Volunteer extending personal boundaries
I am just a city slicker really. Well, until I volunteered with ICV.
My most recent project is assisting Walgett Aboriginal Medical Services (WAMS) with their Silver Jubilee in April 2011.
Who said it was scary to fly on small planes? I had to have hypnotherapy to fly.
Getting governance right
A governance support project has given the Nhunadar Watchinar Parnba Community Aboriginal Corporation north of Geraldton the confidence to pursue a land claim.
The corporation says it is now confident that it is operating “in a true and correct manner” .
Leaving an imprint on Wadeye
Lucy Butler left the comfort zone of her neighbourhood in Sydney to work with the Palngun Wurnangat Association in Wadeye NT, helping women produce screen prints and etchings, and to assist with the coordination of the Wadeye Arts and Culture Festival.
“The Arts Centre has a group of very talented artists. I was able to push their designs a little further and play with other printing techniques,” she explained.
Turning more than heads.
Sawmilling, a calendar and now furniture making – all of this as a result of members from the Daly River community in the Northern Territory working to make it safe again for residents after African mahogany trees planted many years ago started to shed their limbs.
Retired teacher and furniture maker Peter Dorman has spent several weeks in the community as part of an ICV project helping develop the furniture-making skills of community members.
Daly River sawmilling
As a third generation saw miller rwho wound up the family operation, the last thing Ian Straker thought he would be doing would be assisting in starting up a sawmilling operation as an ICV volunteer.
But that’s exactly what the qualified engineer found himself doing with the Daly River community in the Northern Territory.
A green birth
Greening a pocket of the desert in the far north of Australia’s Kimberley region is no small ambition – but that’s what the Wangjatjunka community is doing with ICV’s help.
The aim is to develop a native plant nursery and garden that beautifies the landscape, improves local diet and provides income for the unemployed.
School’s in on the Tiwi Islands
Children growing up on the Tiwi Islands no longer have to head to Darwin to finish their schooling.
Tiwi College on Melville Island, officially opened by the Governor-General of Australia Quentin Bryce, caters for the needs and aspirations of high school students.
ICV has helped to provide human resources and other skills needed to ensure the college will be able to offer the necessary education for the students.
Web weaves its wonders for Aboriginal art business
A promotional website for an Aboriginal Corporation in Canberra has given its owners new skills and the wings to grow their business.
A stitch in time
A group of women in Palumpa in the Northern Territory learnt the art of sewing and gained a new wardrobe as part of a community-driven ICV project. The project helped revitalise the Palumpa Women’s Centre. The volunteers also ran an informal school holidays art program.
Vet services back on Palm Island
A veterinarian has returned to Palm Island thanks to improved facilities provided by an ICV volunteer working in partnership with the local council.
Poor animal welfare in Indigenous communities in Queensland’s north was brought into sharp view with a recent attack by a pack of eight dogs at Yarrabah near Cairns.
Plumbing to the stars
Finding a hot shower for an Australian film legend was just one of the experiences a retired plumber enjoyed while working working closely with the Yolgnu people at this year’s Garma Festival in north-east Arneham Land.
