Break Thru NAIDOC Week Celebrations - Care For Families & Maroubra DES

Care For Families and Sharron Smith from the Maroubra office teamed up to celebrate NAIDOC Week for 2010.

MONDAY

The week started with an invitation to the Eastern Region Reconciliation Awards Ceremony and the La Perouse NAIDOC Week 2010 launch held at Yarra Bay House. Sharron was part of the team that organised the event which was attended by community members, service providers and members of the local Councils, including Randwick, Botany Bay and Sydney.

The wet weather on the day meant that the ceremony was held inside the house which was decorated in red, black and yellow lanterns and native flower arrangements. The ceremony included flag raising to launch the week, dancing from young children in the community as well as the presentation of the Pauline McLeod awards for reconciliation as presented by Randwick Lord Mayor John Procopiadis. La Perouse Community Awards were also awarded on the day and Break Thru People Solutions were honoured to receive an award in recognition of support provided to the community. The award acknowledges the work that Sharron Smith has achieved in La Perouse and the support that for Care For Families has been able to provide. Hoda Kobeissi accepted this award on Break Thru's behalf as Sharron was conveniently arranging the catering for the event at the time.

The ceremony continued with the launch of a new men's area at Yarra Bay House for those who live in the local area. Finally, to conclude the first day of NAIDOC week, Gary Grant unveiled his sculpture with the support of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and their Cultural Heritage Sub-Committee. The sculpture was made of 1000 vials of sand from the original landing place of Captain James Cook. Gary arranged the sand vials in a perspex structure to form the shape of Australia to present as a gift for the start of NAIDOC week. The lids of the vials were red, yellow and black to reflect the Aboriginal flag. People from the La Perouse community were then invited to come and collect vial in a symbolic gesture to reclaim the earth that originally belonged to the Aboriginal people.
Following the formal proceedings of the launch, we were invited to enjoy a light lunch, topped off by a delicious cake made for the occasion by the Care For Families team. It was a great way to start NAIDOC week!

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday 7th Break Thru joined in the Naidoc celebrations at Guriwal Family Fun day at Bicentennial Park, La Perouse. Family day saw a great attendance from the community despite the miserable conditions for outdoors. It was attended by local families and service providers including Break Thru Care For Families, Housing NSW, The Shack, Randwick City Council, Guriwal Respite and Transport Services, Centrelink and many others. There were dodgem cars, a giant slide and other fun rides to keep the young ones occupied.

THURSDAY

NAIDOC week continued Elders movie day on Thursday where Minister Garrett presented the community with an official Apology to Indigenous Australians with a personalised plaque to the La Perouse Community from The Hon Peter Garrett, Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts. Break Thru assisted in hosting a movie day showing Bran Nu Dae and cooking a baked lunch for the local Elders. The day was a great success with Minister Garrett joining our seniors for lunch joking that after being in a touring rock band for 30 years a ‘bakie’ at La Pa was the best he’s ever had.
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SATURDAY

To conclude NAIDOC Week celebrations, Sharron Smith from Break Thru Maroubra and Care For Families attended the Walla Mulla Family fun day at Woolloomooloo on Saturday 10th. A traditional welcome and smoking ceremony started the festivities for the day. Performances were held throughout the day, including traditional dances from community members of all ages, indigenous painting and musical performances. Local service providers held information stalls including Break Thru DES and Care For Families, NSW Police, Housing NSW and City of Sydney Council. Break Thru helped to support the day by assisting to host the Elders Tent.