Mudjingaal Djama COORDINARE! (Friends talk at COORDINARE) Yarn with us about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing
As the Primary Health Network for South Eastern NSW, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing is important to us. The South Eastern NSW region spans across four interconnected Nations: Yuin, Dharawal, Ngunnawal / Ngambri, and Ngarigo. These Nations of seas, skies, mountains, rivers, bush, and forests are home to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mobs.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Yuin, Dharawal, Ngunnawal / Ngambri, Ngarigo and Gundungurra Nations and pay respects to Elders past, present, and future generations, and acknowledge their continuing connections to their traditional lands, seas, and skies.
Artwork featured above: The banner artwork was created by artist Rhiannon Chapman, from the Djiringanj Yuin nation on the Far South Coast of NSW. The title of the artwork is 'Heal our Country', with a short message from Rhiannon:
"[This artwork includes] our sacred sites, our cultural heritage, our waters, our animals, our bush medicines, our traditional practices, our health but most importantly heal us as First Nations people, through all the pain and suffering we have endured through generation to generation."
Mudjingaal Djama: Translates to 'Friends talk' in Dhurga language, spoken by many mobs across Yuin Country. Words referenced from the Dhurga Dictionary.
While you're here... become a Mudji (Friend) of COORDINARE!
Want to make a difference to your local mob and community? Become a Friend of COORDINARE and have your say on local health services! It takes two minutes - simply sign up here.
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Aboriginal Report Card 2021-2022
Hey there!
We hope you had a great holiday break!
Late last year, COORDINARE released our Aboriginal Health Report Card for 2021-2022.
You can check it out here!
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What you said about the COVID-19 vaccination rollout
We recently surveyed a range of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander community members in South Eastern NSW about your thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, and whether you intend to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Of those surveyed, more than half of you (53%) were female and 48% were male. Most of you were aged in the 44–55 (38%) and 25–35 (30%) age bracket.
In addition, more than a quarter of you (28%) live with disability. More than half of you (56%) also live with chronic illness.
Finally, three-quarters of you were from the Southern part of the region (Ulladulla to Eden).
When we asked whether you knew someone who had contracted COVID-19 – including yourselves or a family member – 100% of people said no! However, 50% of you had been tested for COVID-19 as a precaution.
It was great to see that 93% of you had spoken to your friends and family about the COVID-19 vaccine. The main reason you wanted to talk about the vaccine was to discuss keeping relatives and Elders with underlying health issues safe, as well as contributing to herd immunity in Australia.
Interestingly, a huge majority of you (90%) are likely to encourage others to receive the vaccine, whether friends, family members, or workmates.
However, a significantly lower number of you (50%) indicated that you intend to have the COVID-19 vaccine yourselves.
Above: We asked whether you intend to have the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available.
For those respondents who do intend to get the vaccine, the top three reasons were as follows:
- To protect my loved ones
- To protect vulnerable people
- To protect myself
The top three reasons for not wanting to get the COVID-19 vaccine related to fears over this vaccine in particular; a strong stance against vaccination in general; and other health reasons for not getting vaccinated and / or a fear of needles.
Almost three-quarters of you (70%) plan to access the COVID-19 vaccine at your local general practice, followed by an Aboriginal Medical Service (30%).
Some of you indicated that the opinion of family and friends would influence your decision on whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This highlights the importance of making sure good information is available to talk about and share, helping people make informed decisions.
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Thank you to the survey respondents for sharing your thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout!
Vaccinating the local community will take time, but everyone who would like to be vaccinated will be able to access the vaccine. To find out if you are currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, please refer to the vaccine eligibility tracker on the Department of Health’s website.
Learn more about keeping yourself and others safe in this short video about ‘herd immunity’.
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If you would like to stay in touch and hear from us about future health-related surveys and consultations, we encourage you to sign up as a Friend of COORDINARE! Together we can help to improve local health outcomes.
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Closing the Gap: driving change through creativity with Beyond Empathy
Beyond Empathy is an organisation that works with communities across Australia to shift perceptions and generate positive social change. With a strong connection to First Nations communities, their team of artists, mentors, community workers, local practitioners, and leaders forms creative partnerships with people in need, empowering and transforming lives in the process.
Beyond Empathy successfully ‘pitched’ their idea to receive COORDINARE funding from an engaged audience at an event called Pitch Night in Wollongong, 2019.
Funding awarded to Beyond Empathy led to their Illawarra team offering a unique and inspiring podcast project called SHIFT − Shaping How I Feel Today. The project gave young people living in public housing estates in the Illawarra the opportunity to use audio, storytelling, multimedia, and live performance to tell stories that stimulate conversations about health.
By providing a creative way for young people to express their thoughts and feelings about health, including the importance of looking after our mental health, SHIFT helped create new pathways to better health and wellbeing.
Read the full case study here!
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Update on our 'Innovate' Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
In early 2019, COORDINARE began working on the first phase of a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP): a document detailing measurable goals we would like to achieve to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in South Eastern NSW.
Our internal RAP Working Group proudly led this work in consultation with the Board, COORDINARE’s Cultural Advisor, and key stakeholders. In late 2019, Reconciliation Australia officially endorsed our RAP, and our 'Reflect' RAP for 2019-2020 was launched!
We are now in phase two in the reconciliation journey, called the 'Innovate' RAP. The Innovate RAP aims to:
- establish the best approach for advancing reconciliation within the organisation
- implement reconciliation strategies and initiatives over a period of two years.
We are excited to say that we have submitted the first draft of the Innovate RAP to Reconciliation Australia, and are awaiting their feedback! We will keep you updated on our progress.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the purpose of an Innovate RAP here.
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Who's listening?
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Phone 0407 002 371 Email thill@coordinare.org.au -
