April Newsletter

A welcome message from our CEO

Adrienne Barnett

Hi everyone,

I hope that some of us had the opportunity to reflect during National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June every year), with this year’s theme ‘All In’, being a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day.

The date for Reconciliation Week commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey, the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, so we can build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.

When people say Australia isn’t a racist Country, it is very frustrating as many of
us recall the failure of the 2023 Referendum for a National Voice, Governments continuing failure to reach Closing The Gap targets by not listening to the community’s solutions, ignorant and racist commentary on social media platforms, and current speculation around the possibility of Pauline Hanson becoming an Australian Prime Minister. No wonder we get disheartened.

We need our non-Indigenous allies to take a stand and speak up when they encounter racism and ignorance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but we must be mindful of a quote from Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi: ‘You can beat 40 scholars with one fact, but you cannot beat one idiot with 40 facts.’

May was also Domestic Violence Prevention Month and staff attended the
Centre for Family and Domestic Violence Research’s annual Forum at the Mackay
Entertainment and Convention Centre, as well as hosting a ‘Boots Up’ community event for our men to have some hard conversations around how they can work to reduce the amount of family and domestic violence in the community. We again call out to our men to be accountable and help each other when it comes to keeping our families and children safe. We all likely know or will know someone who is directly impacted by domestic and family
violence, and we all can play a role in breaking the cycle . This can begin by
following the three Rs, Recognize,  Respond and Refer. (read more about the 3
r’s in page 7 of this newsletter)

Program Updates

PICCANINNY KINSHIP AND FOSTER CARE

Piccaninny are currently supporting 44 Kinship Carers, 49 General Carers, and 95 children. Our new office Open Day is on 5 June at 10am, and we will also have some training opportunities coming up for carers through QFKC, with more details to come. Meet our newest Kinship Carer Support Worker, Tiomee Ramsamy! 

DELEGATED AUTHORITY

ABORIGINAL TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DOMESTIC FAMILY VIOLENCE PROGRAM (ATSIDFVSS)

This month is Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, an annual initiative dedicated to raising community awareness and promoting vital support services. Our DV program participated in the Indigenous Domestic and Family Violence Forum at the MECC, with our very own Lyndon Francis as MC. We also hosted our own ‘Boots Up’ event, a yarn with males in the community who may have been victims of Domestic and Family Violence, helping them to heal and move forward.

TRADING TRACKS

This months Yarnz Network, sponsored by VEX Group, brought together local businesses, community members, and industry representatives for a morning of connection, collaboration, and conversation. A big thank you to Ryan, Matty, and the entire VEX Group team for sponsoring and hosting such a successful event, and for continuing to support Indigenous business development across the region.

Mackay NAIDOC Business Awards. Registrations are now open register your Indigenous business now! Link Here

FAMILY PARTICIPATION PROGRAM (FPP)

Hi everyone. My name is Sonetta Fewquandie and I am the family Services Manager for the Indigenous Family Wellbeing Service and the Family Participation Program. I have been working at Marabisda for 10 years this August, but as many of you may know I have been working with the community for the past 35 years in many roles. My passion is our Indigenous families and working toward keeping our children out of the child protection system. Our staff work tirelessly to support our referred families through offering the Circle of Security Program (Parenting), Women’s Group, access to a Domestic Violence Program (Weaving Stories) and Alcohol and Substance support.

Our staff are highly experienced and can offer support to families who are involved with the Department of Child Safety. We advocate for our families on a high level and Marabisda being recognised for our professionalism can work with the department in making the right decision for our families. We receive a large number of referrals, and this can be quite sad,
but we will continue to work with our families to empower them to make better choices for their families. Let’s put our children first and keep them safe.

INDIGENOUS FAMILY WELLBEING SERVICE (IFWS)

Earlier this month, Marabisda farewelled one of our dedicated Family Wellbeing Support Workers, Henry Viti.

We thank him for his compassion & support, and wish him the very best for the future, he will truly be missed!

MACKAY CONNECTED BEGINNINGS

Hi Families, Our team has had a wonderful month connecting with our little ones, families, and Community. This month, we stood alongside the family of Kumanjayi Little Baby at a vigil held at the Fishbones on River Street to honour and remember a beautiful little girl who now walks in the Dreamtime.

Our playgroups continue to be well attended, and we absolutely love seeing our little learners come along each week to play, learn, connect, and grow. We also spent a lovely morning celebrating the incredible women in our Community at our Mothers Day Event, recognising the important role that mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, and caregivers play in growing our children and families strong.

Our team enjoyed attending Under 8’s Week celebrations at Mackay West State School and Eimeo Road State School, where we hosted a slime activity for children and families. Slime is a fantastic sensory tool for young children, supporting brain development, fine motor skills, creativity, language growth, and self-regulation. The children engaged so beautifully in this activity, and it was wonderful to see so much laughter, curiosity, and joy.