Koobara Kindy gets ready for NAIDOC
Cover image: Uncle Syl, Joseph Armstrong and Paula outside the Kindy playground at Koobara.
This year for NAIDOC Week, ARTD Senior Manager Paula Shaw and Aboriginal Associate Uncle Syl visited Koobara Kindergarten and Pre-prep in Meanjin, where they met with CEO Joseph Armstrong to learn more about the organisation’s history and preparations for this year’s celebrations. Paula shares her reflections below!
On Friday, Uncle Syl took me out to have a yarn with Joseph Armstrong, the CEO of Koobara Kindy to learn more about Koobara’s philosophy, what they do and how they’re preparing for their NAIDOC week celebrations.
The kindy has been in its current location for nearly 30 years, but started long before that, with a group of Aboriginal women who got together in the early 1970’s to find a way to make sure their children had access to all of the benefits of early childhood education, but also wanted to make sure their kids were learning their culture and connecting with their own community. Koobara, meaning women’s meeting place, began.
This same ethic of education, culture and community underpins the work of what is now the Koobara Kindergarten and Pre-prep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation. While the kindy is still the backbone of the organisation, supporting local 4 and 5 year olds to prepare for formal schooling, the organisation’s work is much broader. Koobara is a hub for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and community members to connect with each other and to culture. In addition to the kindy, the organisation hosts a play group, a community program of fortnightly family fun activities and delivers a family support program that delivers a range of parenting, well-being and skills development workshops and provides referrals to specialised services. Koobara has a small fleet of vehicles which means they can make kindy outings into community outings that include whole families. As well as hosting the annual NAIDOC fun day, Koobara is a place where community comes together for important events cultural events, including ceremony and sorry business.
While we were visiting, Koobara was partnering with another local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Kurbingui Youth and Family Development) organisation that provides work experience and skills development for local youth. These young people were helping construct new concrete pathways in readiness for the upcoming NAIDOC event, which Koobara has hosted for the last 30 years.
As part of our RAP, ARTD is again supporting the Koobara sausage sizzle at the Northside NAIDOC family fun day with a $500 donation. Uncle Syl and I are also volunteering on the day. Come along, say hi, have a snag and support this terrific and growing community organisation and enjoy everything on offer on the day!
Uncle Syl Johns and Joseph Armsrong, CEO of Koobara Kindergarten, at the yarning circle at Koobara. In the background, you can see one of their busses and the large shed that hosts community gatherings, including the Elders lunch on the NAIDOC fun day event.
