Saying Yes to Reconciliation

Saying yes to reconciliation and understanding has been a big focus of our team at Meerilinga in 2017/18 and as a team we made a public commitment to Aboriginal reconciliation by creating a Reconciliation Plan (RAP).

We have been working towards ensuring our community is inclusive and has a real understanding of what it means to be connected to Country and what Country is, rather than a term many of us hear every now and then at official functions and in the media.

Our RAP was developed through a consultation process both internally with Meerilinga staff, students and volunteers externally with community, families and service providers. A sincere thank you goes out to the local Elders and the Aboriginal community who supported us through this journey. Volunteering WA played an important role which extended to linking us with Jay Wong from Woodside Energy who provided us with professional guidance every step of the way.

We would also like to make special note of the work put in by each member of our steering community who contributed their knowledge and advice. A lot of time and effort was volunteered by a large number of people to ensure this projects success and the results are a big win for the community.

When it finally came time to celebrate the launch of our finished RAP dozens of people from our community joined us at a special RAP including representatives from other services and a gain we are grateful for their support of this initiative.

After a welcome to country, guests enjoyed a morning tea of freshly baked damper provided by members of our Kadajiny Aboriginal Playgroup, a huge community painting was created and we even managed to get most of the paint onto the paper which was quite an achievement given the number of children who were eager to leave their mark on this historic occasion.

We are so excited to start this journey of reconciliation with the greater Perth community.