Yalu and Australian Red Cross working with Yolngu Wanganhamirr Mitj

 Model: Yalu and Australian Red Cross partnership: hold the funding from Government and wait for community to use it. Yolngu Wanganhamirr Mitj’: local board who make the decision how to share funding to applicants. Making sure that rupee changes lives for people. Funding goes to community projects, programs or events after they have put in application.

 Story: These are the ladies who make decisions about applications for SCfC rupee. They are from every tribe in this island, and they work in all the departments on the island. The team started 3 years ago looking at integration and working together as services for children, family and young people. Young people are joining the group now, and men too. Yolngu Wanganhamirr Mitj’ made the Stronger Communities for Children model for Galiwinku and meet every month to keep it strong. They have a Rule Book for the Rom they work in and how to keep SCfC straight for Yolngu.

Some of the team members....

Yolngu Wanganhamirr Mitj’, Yalu and Red Cross made a promise to listen to Yolngu and community voice telling them what people want. To do this, we will go to houses, business and department to talk with people every year. This year, two Aboriginal Community Facilitators visted 60 people at homes and did a survey, and the SCfC Coordinators talked with 35 staff people in programs.

From these visits we found that there are 5 main areas that Yolngu fid important in their lives: 1) Teaching, learning, celebrating and preserving Yolngu culture and spirituality 2) Yolngu ad Balanda education – skills for life, health and well being 3) A variety of ongoing wellbeing activities, sports and recreation for all ages 4) Programs that provide support and safe places for Yolngu men, women, young and old people to care for themselves and build confidence. 5) Community infrastructure

 Raypirri camps, more focus on teaching young generation Yolngu knowledge, culture festivals, heritage and archive programs,  Young parent support programs, father’s programs, girls & boys brigades, school camps in the bush, gardening and food growing education, counselling and rehabilitiation programs,  After school activities, school holiday programs, differetn kinds of sports, hunting trips, women’s centre activities, men’s shed/place, literacy and numeracy, movie nights,  Women’s centre, Men’s rest/cool off area, Rehabilitation Camps for Yolngy, Safe hosues, night patrol support, diversion camps, Strong fathers programs,

 Applications are open two times a year for 4 weeks. They are open to everyone.  Posters and s go out in community when applications are open.  The next round is open November 2014 – this is for programs, activites or events during January 2015 – June  There is SCfC guidelines/Rom:  For example: - programs have to benefit children, families and young people in ways that Yolngu want. :- funding cannot be used to set up a business and make rupee from.  There are guidlines that you can pick up from SCfC building and read for more information.

 After 4 weeks of people giving their applications to SCfC team, Yolngu Wanganhamirr Mitj’ meet for two days.  First they look at all the community priorities that came out of the survey so they have clear ideas of what is important to Yolngu.  Then over the two days they discuss and debate all the applications until consensus is reached. This took over 10 hours for the last meeting, with 8 applications to decide on.  Feedback from YWM is provided to ALL applicants whether they are approved for funding or not, and encouraged to reapply next time with some changes.  In July this year, 4 applications were approved.

 The four applications that got funded in July this year were:  1) Refuge Bay Raypirri Camp at Bunthala – camps for young people to help them get back on track  2) Galiwinku Music Heritage and Archive program – interviews with musicians of first bands and archiving of old video and photos for next generation. Making a documentary of this story.  3) Yalu Gardening and Wellbeing Program – working with four households to clean up their living areas and create healthy environments for families. Sharing Yolngu and Balanda knowledge about plants and wellbeing.  Garrawurra Raypirri Rom Program – working with young people to teach them clan knowledge and cross cultural linkages between clans in Galiwinku. Training and mentoring next generation in these roles. Running activities out at Dhumbala during culture weeks at the school.

 When an application is approved by YWM, they have to make an agreement/contract with Yalu and Australian Red Cross. This is a promise that they will spend the money in the way they said.  Every program, activity or event has to report back to us and there is an SCfC Reporting template that we teach how to use.  We need to do these reports so that Yalu and Australian Red Cross can report back to government with all the stories and rupee. This shows that we are strong in community to make our own decisions and run our own programs that people want.

 YWM and Yalu & ARC want to hear feedback from community on their process. They want to hear community feeling about how SCfC is yuwalk changing lives for children, families and young people.  This will keep us on track every year as things change in community and people need different things. You have to keep telling us what is missing and what is important.  We will open up an evaluation of our process for community to share in and also to ask for feedback about programs that get funded under SCfC.  We can all share in building this opportunity strong!