back to home
NAPCAN NT Letter of Support
Jane Hanckel
The Spirit of Childhood
Thursday 13 December 2007
Dear Jane
NAPCAN NT President Kadeja James is an Aboriginal women with cultural and family ties to both Northern Territory and Queensland. Kadeja had the opportunity to participate in the Spirit of Childhood Parent Education program held in Borroloola in October 2007.
Around 40 women attended with children of all ages. Now this sounds like a simple number, but what it really signifies is that senior women and younger women from across the community not only wanted to participate but actively engaged in the activities for the duration of the workshop. Rarely does this level of sustained interest and participation occur in communities especially around a new program.
Kadeja believes it was because there was a supportive, encouraging environment established. It was a safe, secure, open and confidential space for women to share culture, stories and their songs. It was a powerful experience. Traditional women do not share such important knowledge lightly.
The women were provided with an opportunity to be involved in hands-on training and for them to reflect on traditional parenting practices, share their knowledge of these practices and their ways of doing things from their own perspective.
Women and children participated in a community building activity which created the foundation for stronger families. The program had a clear family focus with the potential for men to play a more active participatory role in the activities.
The program was implemented in a culturally appropriate way. It provided an effective means of communicating about raising children. It was very good looking in from the outside to see senior Aboriginal women from the community actively participating in all aspects of the program. The role of the women in the workshop duplicated in many ways traditional learning processes.
NAPCAN NT strongly endorses this program as a valuable means of reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect and increasing the protective factors within families and communities.
Regards
Lesley Taylor
Lesley Taylor| NT Executive Officer | NAPCAN Foundation
T 08 89480884 | M 0419 808959 | F 08 89480483 | E nt@napcan.org.au
preventing child abuse - before it starts
www.napcan.org.au <http://www.napcan.org.au/> www.childfriendly.org.au <http://www.childfriendly.org.au/>