YARRABAH
The opportunity to visit
Yarrabah community came last year when I was invited to document the
Women's Leadership Training Program hosted by the women of Yarrabah
community and sponsored by the Office for Women. I was introduced to
many wonderful women at the conference, and Aunty Flo Watson showed me
around the beautiful community, introducing me to many relatives and
friends. The conference was a resounding success, in that the women of
the community really put on a great day of educational, inspirational
and emotionally moving workshops and discussions. The Minister for
Child Safety, the Hon Margaret Keach attended and the catering was
truly excellent! One of the speakers at the conference was Suzanne
Andrews, the finance manager of Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services.
Suzanne commissioned me to
return to Yarrabah in October to produce, in collaboration with
Gurriny's amazing team of health workers, a documentary promoting
positive models in parenting, particularly aimed at young
parents-to-be. Dixie Hari performed an incredible job of recruiting,
consulting, production assisting, and, as the time-frame was tight,
stepped in and featured as the lead actor in the film. Steve and I
spent a wonderful week with the team, getting to know some of the
culture of Yarrabah, it's strengths and how it manages to overcome it's
struggles. The films show just what an extraordinary group
of people belong to Yarrie'.
