Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

New South Wales

Kempsey High School

Kempsey Reconciliation Camps Project

$35,000 Awarded

Aims

This project, now completed, aimed to move the local community towards Reconciliation between the Aboriginal community and the non-Aboriginal community by:

establishing a broadly based community group/network to help plan and support the project
conducting ten "Reconciliation Camps" for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, parents, teachers and Aboriginal Elders in the Kempsey area
holding progressive evaluations to fine tune and precisely focus the program
publicising and extending the camp to other schools, citizens and communities

Activities

The project involved:

setting up the group of Aboriginal and non Aboriginal students, parents, community leaders, teachers, Elders and student leaders working together, with the endorsement of the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, to plan Reconciliation camps
receiving support from the Dhungutti Elders Council, with a Dhungutti elder opened each camp
developing community networks, training students, including informing Reconciliation groups of the program and inviting them to visit the camps
holding Living in Harmony Day in March 2000 as a partnership between Kempsey High School, Kempsey Shire Council, Mid-North Coast Area Health Service and DIMIA (event flooded out in 2001)
evaluating the program by student questionnaires, discussion with community members and the Steering Committee, and discussions with participating organisations.

Outcomes

The project noted that:

the participation of a wide range of community and service agencies contributed to:

excellent community response and support
groups networking and getting together
camps becoming a focus for creative ideas and new partnerships, such as an innovative partnership between Community Health & Durri Aboriginal Medical Service to provide parenting programs to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal parents in Kempsey

some 600 people attended the camps, with the change of venue to Corangula Camp (managed by the Guri Wa Nundaggar Aboriginal Corporation) leading to greater participation and support by Koori people

student response to the camps was positive and enthusiastic, with:
students reporting the strengthening of relationships
earlier campers returning later as leaders
the positive outcomes of the camps translating into greater peer support in school
subsequent reduction of racially motivated incidents in the school
the school intending to continue the camps using other funding and more volunteers

the steering committee’s early evaluation of the camps and the resulting the fine tuning of the program, led to greater cooperation between community and service organisations involved in the camps such as:

inclusion of Drug & Alcohol programs
participation by the NSW Police Service
links to a number of Personal Development programs

there has been a spin-off of Harmony projects in other local organisations, such as:

St Paul's College now running a similar program with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students
Nambucca Shire Council also running a similar program (under LIH Phase 2), with the coordinator already in contact with Nambucca Council, offering advice and support, including contacts with Aboriginal elders and workshop speakers
Kempsey High School itself continuing to offer the program, having obtained additional (non-LIH) funding for 2002
the Catholic schools in the area, which have copied the idea

parents and school staff who attended the program have indicated a greater understanding of historical issues and the ongoing effects on the community, leading to:

raised awareness, helping increase tolerance and understanding in the community
understanding the most important factor - the need to show respect to all people
realising that it is extremely important in areas like Kempsey, with a troubled past history in race relations, to include Aboriginal elders in all decision making and planning