NAIDOC Week ran from 4-11 July 2021 and the theme this year was ‘Heal Country’. Although many of our employees and participants were in a lockdown over the week and couldn’t attend physical events, The Trust was determined to still be involved in other ways. Some of the highlights were:
A smoking ceremony and a bush tucker lunch to welcome a First Nations participant into their new home in the Shoalhaven. It was important to his family and The Trust that all the necessary cultural practices were carried out. His mother was very emotional and thankful that we understood the importance of the smoking ceremony and the need for her son to be welcomed onto the land by the continuing custodians of the land on which the home is built.
The residents of our Sydney homes listened to dreamtime stories such as “The Rainbow Serpent”, “How the birds got their colours” and “How the Kangaroo got its tail”. They also painted some Aboriginal inspired artwork while listening to an Aboriginal dreamtime meditation. They all had a very enjoyable time participating in NAIDOC week.
The Disability Trust staff in the Hunter decided to celebrate NAIDOC with some great recipes. ”We had the idea it would be good for two of our houses to take turns in cooking from our great recipes and doubling the quantities so that they were cooking for both houses” explained Sharon, Disability Support Worker. We cooked kangaroo pie; lamb and mushroom ragu with saltbush and mountain pepperberry; roasted wattleseed and cinnamon myrtle banana bread; lemon myrtle, white chocolate and raspberry blondies; and chicken rissoles with lemon myrtle and old man saltbush. One of our other Disability Support Workers, Rebecca said, “I got a bit creative with the pastry for our Kangaroo Pie!” The result was this hugely impressive (and no doubt very tasty) masterpiece.
