Day 4 "What might life be like living in a remote Aboriginal community  In Central Australia?" we drove to Santa Teresa on dirt road approx 1 hr. Visited the local school all Aboriginal population. Greg is principal In 5th year. Teachers generally last at the school for 6 mths to 2 yrs, have 2 teachers currently in their 3 rd year. In staff room met with two Aboriginal women, Imelda and Rachel, part of the strong leadership   Team. They told the story of the Arrentre people. The changes forced  upon a once self sufficient thriving community, by the super shire changes and also the Intervention. Housing is a major issue as is unemployment. Lease agreements have been enforced for 5 yrs which allows anyone into the community. The Government won't fix housing problems or build more until the community agree to a longer lease. A government appointed position introduced into community without any consultation. Community store taken over and now profits don't go back into community as they were before. The  Profits  used to fund the watering and maintenance  of the oval. There used to be an orchard set up, operated and managed by the Aboriginal people in the community. When the shire came in, they reduced the water supply,saying they were using too much water and as a result the orchard didn't have enough water to operate so they eventually closed down and 10 jobs were lost. The community doesn't have a voice! they are just trying to set up a cooperative which will have members from all parties on it to deal with these issues. Imelda has been on SBS with regards to the housing problems and Intervention. very articulate, must look up. Up to 3 families are forced to live in a house. Went into yr 3 classroom. Doing Easter activities. English and Maths at yr 1 level...journal writing using 30 words,  learning o'clock Couple of kids didn't like my hair, wouldn't sit next to me. They have lunch at school. Go home  for an hour at 12.30 pm and then come back after an hour. They are Doing Easter dramatisations, same as our year 3 last yr...garden of gesthemane. Visited the spirituality centre with Sister Liz and met Mia (meaning mother ) who is a healer. Women have created their own industry with their art. Up to 28 artists who get paid. if an item$40 then they would keep $30 and give $10  back to keep project going. make beautiful paintings, painted objects and silk scarves.  Went to the Keringke Arts Centre  Tour through local church, which has to be seen to be believed! Made by hand of stone. inside is painted with stories from creation of world and religious interpretation of local people. Just breathtaking, so talented. Drove to water tower and then climbed goat track to see 360 degree, magnificent view at top of hill at the large white cross. Santa Teresa named from little bit of flour.....to little flower....translated to Saint Teresa meaning flower.. That's how it got its name. Dinner at Lassaters Casino....the something rump, two for one deal....had  yummy salmon. Hit a wall tonight,  extremely tired, just showered and bed, pack in the morning for Uluru.

Day 3 "What might life be like for an Aboriginal person in Alice Springs" Had a great sleep last night, exhausting days and itinerary but wouldn't want it any other way! Such rich experiences. So didn't wake up until 8am! Uploaded my long and made a phone call home to speak to my lovelies, who are having a terrific holiday also! The itinerary can have slight changes as we go and because of my late start, thinking that we were meeting at 9am thought I had plenty of time for breaks but there was a change so missed the visit to a local high school to see their new hall. Wandered the town to Woolies to pick up lunch supplies for tomorrows visit to Santa Theresa School, and had a lovely coffee. Funny comment to make but lots of Aboriginal men around this morning which have been noticeably absent over the past two days. We have seen plenty of women and children of all ages but not so many men. One of the stall holders we were talking with yesterday, the one who'd been part of the stolen generation was telling us that the men in the immunity have been displaced over the years and have lost their role in the community and as such are lost themselves. She said that they traditionally the main decision makers and disciplinarians, but those roles have been taken away as they have very little to do with the decisions that are beIng made about them. Communication or lack of it is a major issue and having an enormous impact on the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs and the NT. Because the men have lost their role and are seemingly removed they don't discipline the young ones when they are wayward and the women cannot do this as traditionally it is not their role. Unlike white women who can tell there children off and step in to discipline, aboriginal women can't. This is causing big problems as any of the young men have no direction. She felt that all parties in the community need to come together and talk to each other for a solution to be found. We asked if she thought this would happen and she said it would have to happen as their society is disintegrated bit is becoming worse and worse. Her symbol for community is ever present in her artwork, at the heart of it. Theresa was saying that she has set up groups in the common nifty centre so that young girls can learn to gather and make bush medicine, learn skills that have begun to be lost. There eare groups for the young men also to learn skills to make spears and hunt etc. They have groups for elderly people particularly there women on how to look after themselves, their health and their spirit. Theresa has used white education to educate herself and is in a piston. Where she can use both and see both views to stag then her culture. he believes that education is the key! We want up to the Anzac Lookout and had a 360 degree view of Alice Springs. very hot say todAy 39 degrees! The heat is tricky because you feel hot but don't really sweat so I've ended up with headaches....sneaks up on you have been drinking about 4bottles of water plus water wherever you go. We then visited the Indigenous Early Learning Centre, part of OLSH school. this is a no fee paying centre for a indigenous children which has previously not received any government funding, until Julia Gillard visited last year and has now approved funding of the next two years. They were finding that although there were  plenty of centers of Aboriginal children to go to, they weren't. So they set up this centre and a bus goes to the houses and cAmps and collects the students every morning. The kids are brought to the centre, fed morning tea and lunch and there clothes are washed. they participate in programs as we would have n our schools.  they as then dropped home via the mini bus after 12.30pm. Such beautiful kids! We played in the home corner, making food for the babies. we built towers from blocks and glued pictures and then sang songs on the carpet together. They  can take 18 children. The children were very happy to have us there and demanding of our attention. they loved having their photo taken and then viewing it. A few of us then had the privilege of taking these children back to their homes on the bus. This was the difficult part, to take them from a safe and healthy environment to such poverty, violence and neglect. only 3 of the 18 children went to a home which we would consider to be ok in a poverty stricken environment. only 1 child as welcomed with a hug. these children don't know what they will face when they get he. Most of the family don't even come out to greet them. one child can hardly speak because he has suffered abuse where he is never spoken to. The positive thing is that these kids get to experience school and understand how to operate within a school environment because the Only way out  for them is education. They will go to the school that is closest to them and the current statistics show that most will drop out by Yr 10. The average number of Aboriginal students who graduATe from OLSH is 5!  The camps that these children live in have to be seen to be believed.. many don't have electricity, some no running water..one of the students, Elizabeth, sleeps on a mattress in the open air with a mosquito net in a camp called White Camp. The government don't want them to live there so they don't provide them with any services, in the hope they'll leave. These are truly fourth world conditions! very disturbing! we were back late from this so the schedule went out the window todAy. we made a visit to Imparja, the local indigenous tv station.  4of us had the opportunity to help with the St Vinnies soup van at 5pm. I wasn't sure how that would go or what people to expect. If you approached an aboriginal person in the street they wouldn't speak to you as a rule. The people who came to the van wanted to talk and share their stories. The first older Aboriginal man was funny, he didn't like my hair, he was asking me why I had my hair short like that, that women should have long hair like him, he liked that better. it was all good natured and I laughed and told him it would grow again. Which it really is growing! another lady had a very sad story, which is quite reflective of the situation faced here by most Aboriginal people, one of poverty, violence, hardship and sadness. She has four sons, 2 are in jail, 1 just got out of Juvenile Detention, he's on his last chance and then she has a 14 yr old. her husband is in jail and she misses him terribly, and struggles to look after her other children financially and emotionally. Her concern was at she wasn't going to have food to feed her son on his community service and she wanted us to give her some sandwiches to take home with her. Which we did. There were about 30 or. More people who came, mainly mores and children and teenage youth. A young boy was calling to me that he'd seen me in his community at church the day before, I guess I stand out in a crowd with my hair at the moment. Another girls who was helping with the van has lived here for 6 yrs and said that when she came it was a thriving, bustling happy town. In the last few years with the intervention and Tiger airlines pulling out, the town is now dying and a totally different place. She said businesses are closing, no new businesses are closing to town and people don't go out and socialize any more. was a great chance to talk to Aboriginal people which is where the learning in this experience is. We had dinner at the pub up the road. it is unsettling to walk around at times. It is a true dichotomy in Alice Springs. Inside the pub a different world from outside. Beautiful food, sad images outside and a power walk back to our hotel. 

Day 2

Day 2 Everyday has been like 3 days, with the amount we have managed to experience! Today after a beautiful breaks to fuel us we were lucky enough to have the local markets in the Todd Mall which is just outside our hotel. They are only fortnightly, so that was great timing. There is a huge range of market stalls, from food, clothing, second hand wares, oxfam, most importantly Many locals bring their paintings to the market and sell them. The authentic ones are usually spread on the ground in front of the Aboriginal person who is the artist. They will tell you the story about the singing, what it means and will sign the back. you can ask them to have their photo with it for authenticity. These artists are so very talented! They each have their own style. You know that the. Only goes to them rather than being paid a pittance and on sold Ina gallery. When walking the mall, we found the lane way in the scene from Samson and Delilah where Delilah is trying to sell her paintings to people outside a cafe. We were speaking to another local artist/stall owner about her art and then she shared part of he story with us. She was part of the stolen generation and discussed her past and the effects that the current intervention is having.  We then Went to the Amoongunga community to share in their Palm Sunday Church service. We were overcome watching the Aboriginal community Processing to the church with palms in hands following the Priest. The crowd coming down the dirt road as they were with children, dogs, elderly people in wheelchairs singing along as others played guitars, headed by the Priest in his robes. Like the joining of two cultures.  We were welcomed and felt welcome throughout but it was also an uncomfortable feeling that stirred emotions as we followed readings and songs that most of the community would be unable to understand due to their lack of knowledge of the English language. It would have been far more appropriate to in some way have something more influenced by the culture and language with which they live. The congregation are collected from the different town camps by mini buses and returned again after the service and morning tea. We were then invited to a BBQ at " Campfire of the Heart" hosted by David and Sue to cook damper and kangaroo tail and listen to and talk with local Aboriginal people about the intervention, their life stories and living in Alice Springs. We met some of the most incredible and inspirational Aboriginal women. These women have written books, taught in schools, started programs to reintroduce their culture to the younger generations and have a huge impact on the religious education in the local area. They are influential women in their culture in that they are strong and committed to making their cultural connections strong again. The Spirit was at work today! Beth, our tour organizer met Theresa one of the women I'm talking about at the service this morning....what's so s Racial about that? She went to boarding school with her and worked with her in NT and then lost contact with her. After seeing her again, Theresa and her daughter spent the day with us and shared much wisdom about her 'Country" , culture and the work she is doing in Alice Springs. After the BBQ we were going to visit Emily and Jesse Gaps and it turns out that this was Theresa's Grandfather country. She shared the dreAming stories for these areas. Such a richness! Both areas were again breathtaking and we got to share in the sight of Aboriginal rock art at Emily Gap. Theresa had a spiritual insight into me that was a very emotional Experience, which I can share with you another time. I,m not able to post photos from here because it uses up too much Internet usage very slow and costly- that's IT in

yesterday...where our journey took us

Have tried to edit some of the posts where auto correct has gone nuts....particularly Day 2, which should read special NOT Racial. I hope you can get the gist of my writing despite the errors. Thankyou :)

Technical difficulties

Having issues with wi-fi so not sure how this blog will go. Keep checking and I'll keep trying to post. A beautiful cool morning here. Local markets here this morning. Ok will try to post this then yesterday's thoughts and photos (some).....yes took just a couple :)

All packed!

Well, finally I'm all packed! I have my "go with anything" beanie, my "cold at night" beanie and my "dressed up for dinner" beanie. Have an early start in the morning to leave home at 6am, check in after 7am and meet the group at 8am. Mark and kids driving me to Brissy. It will be a 3 hour flight, followed by an hour drive to Alice Springs. They're expecting a temp of 36 degrees tomorrow! Phew! After lunch and booking into the Aurora Hotel (sharing a room with Mary from work), we are off to Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm. Back for dinner at 6pm.
So a full day....very exciting.

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Location:Lomond Crescent,Caloundra West,Australia