An electronic publication from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Issue 9, November 2000 - February 2001 : ISSN 1329-3362
Conference abstracts and papers
12th National Health Promotion Conference: Inequalities in health
- reflecting back, stepping forward.
29 October - 1 November 2000, Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Victoria.
Robert Johnson
Establishing a healing
place for Koori people.
The Aboriginal community of Swan Hill District has for many years worked towards establishing a healing place for their people.
The Healing Place will become the property of the Swan Hill and District Aboriginal community, and so will provide a culturally appropriate place for Aboriginal people to meet and spend time healing themselves and finding their place and way in the community.
The Healing Place will be a natural place where all Aboriginal people from across Australia can come to rest and find their way back into their community and family in a holistic approach.
There has been a great deal of frustration and challenges along the way in establishing the Healing Place, in finding the right building and the culturally appropriate piece of land to build and establish the Healing Place upon.
The Healing Place is seeking support from the mainstream community and convincing decision makers and funding bodies that it is relevant and culturally appropriate for the Swan Hill and District Aboriginal Community - that once established, the Healing Place would be able to run programs that will have cumulative and ongoing benefits for the Aboriginal Community.
A Healing Place should have:
- ears, and therefore it should listen - the opportunity to be heard;
- eyes and therefore it should see - the opportunity to have contact;
- emotions and therefore it should empathise - the opportunity to be understood;
- heart and therefore provide support and nurture positive wellbeing - the opportunity to be cared about.
