Culture builds strength in Port Stephens communities

The Ba-ra Boolarng Dance and Culture program is reconnecting marginalised and disadvantaged Aboriginal children and their families with their culture to promote strength, resilience and positive futures.

For four years the Port Stephens Family Support Service has received Australian Government Indigenous Culture Support funding to deliver this program in a number of towns and communities across the Port Stephens area in the Hunter Valley, NSW.

The success of the program was recently featured in the Closing the Gap: Prime Minister’s Report 2013.

The Ba-ra Boolarng Dance and Culture program responds to community need by giving children and families who experience various levels of disadvantage regular opportunities to get involved in activities that strengthen their ties to culture, heritage and land.

Activities include groups where children learn, sing and perform traditional and contemporary songs and dances; cultural camps; and opportunities to showcase their culture in performances at significant events such as National Sorry Day and the anniversary of the National Apology.

Recently the Ba-ra Boolarng group created a new group called Who We Are, which was developed to address the negative impact of the Stolen Generations on Aboriginal communities.

“My boy is so proud of being part of all this. It’s all he talks about on Tuesday nights [after his dance group],” one parent said.

“He’s always asking us questions about what we did when we were young but we never know what to say cause we never had this. It’s good cause our family can come and watch him, his nan and aunties and uncles –they’ve come.”

School teachers have also reported positive effects of Ba-ra Boolarng, noticing that children in the program are happier in school and have improved attendance.

“I see that the kids really feel they belong now – they have a real belonging,” one teacher said.

“It seems to bring them in… before many of them were out of school, on the streets, at the shops.”

A key factor in Ba-ra Boolarng’s success is the partnership with the Worimi community, who are involved in running the dance and culture groups and ensure the programs and activities are culturally appropriate.

The organisation also supports accredited training for young Aboriginal men and women in the community who gain benefits from learning about their culture, and who share these benefits with their networks, their families and communities.