BCA National's Noelene Millikin recently delivered training in Galiwinku (Elcho Island), north-east of Darwin, this month as part of the Indigenous Remote Service Delivery Traineeship Program.

Here are her thoughts:

"The opportunity to teach in a remote location does not come everyday. However, if you are one of the fortunate ones who are offered to teach there, one should jump at the opportunity!

"The experience was surreal. The flight across ‘the top end’ was amazing; looking down at the coastline and seeing ancient rivers winding like giant snakes across the land - it has to be seen to be really appreciated.

"The one thing I take most from this experience and truly appreciate was the people. The people of Elcho Island welcome you with such honesty and trust that they truly made my time there a once in a lifetime experience. I was privileged to enjoy the company of some wonderful people.

"We laughed and I tried to learn to dance, to no avail, but maybe next time! We learned together, we taught each other.

"It’s ironic that it was I who came across a wealth of new found knowledge - and I was the teacher! Learning about the community and sharing in the daily events gave so much more meaning to the word ‘training.’ We found ways to share our knowledge and to teach each other.

"A journey began when I went to Elcho Island, and I am hoping it continues. I hope what I take with me, I keep with me."

The group will be having their next training block later this month in Uluru. Below are some pictures from the flight from Darwin to Galiwinku.

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“The experience of travelling and meeting new people was awesome!  I had not been to Sydney before and not been in a training group that included people out of our community and from other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“Acknowledgement and confidence was the two big things I got out of my Certificate IV.  At the conclusion of my training I had an opportunity to present at a National Conference for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Service Providers with our Executive Officer.

“I felt a lot more confident and comfortable presenting at the conference as I had gained skills during my training and was presenting on an area that I was not only passionate about, but proud to be a part of.

“One special part was having two of my aunties at the conference who work for another service in Ceduna where some of my family live.  They were so pleased to see my presentation, that in the morning tea break they phoned my nan and mum to tell them how good I did.

“My boss says that she has a 10-year plan for me. When I know what it is I will tell you! P.S. I am at the 3rd year of the plan and I have my Cert IV in Business!

“We work with very special Elders and people need to know that as well as that we work really hard to support them.  It was an awesome experience.  I can’t wait for the next opportunity to share the story of my workplace.”

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Next week on Friday, February 4, BCA National Training Group is hosting a sausage sizzle and cake stall fundraiser to support the communities affected by the Queensland floods.

We’re inviting you to come along to The Station at Jacksons Landing (next to the glasshouse swimming pool on Bowman St, Pyrmont) between 11am and 2pm and lend your aid by purchasing some sausages, soft drinks, cup cakes and raffle tickets.

We hope to raise at least $5,000!

Proceeds will go towards Lifeline Community Care Queensland’s Community Recovery Program.

If you can’t make it but wish to support our efforts, you can still help by visiting www.gofundraise.com.au/BCANational and making a secure, tax-deductible donation online.

For more information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at BCA National on 1300 69 35 65.

About the Event

Where - The Station, Jacksons Landing (next to the glasshouse swimming pool on Bowman St, Pyrmont)
When - 11am to 2pm Friday, February 4
What - Sausage sizzle and cake stall
Why - To raise funds to support those affected by the Queensland floods. Proceeds from the event go towards supporting Lifeline Community Care Queensland’s Community Recovery Program.

About Lifeline Community Care and the Community Recovery Program

People affected by floods can experience moderate to high levels of anxiety, significant grief from further loss of property or valued possessions, and may find themselves in unexpected financial hardship.

This can wear thin on emotional wellbeing. That’s where Lifeline comes in.

Lifeline provides flood support through its Community Recovery Program which is specifically designed to provide support to individuals and communities affected by disasters or events.

The program aims to make an immediate impact on the trauma and stress experienced by communities through counselling interventions, as well as spearheading longer term recovery through a coordinated approach to rebuilding or re-establishing key community networks and support structures.

Some support can continue for years after a critical incident and includes psychological assessments and referrals; immediate and ongoing counselling and support; and financial counselling including referrals for business.

All funds raised will be used to resource Lifeline’s Community Recovery Program so that Lifeline can continue to provide fast response and well-trained staff and volunteers in the event of a disaster.

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Remember to never walk backwards!

Emily’s visit to Coober Pedy

I leaned innocently to the local on the plane next to me and asked about the holes in the ground all around below.  He quickly told me to remember to never walk backwards in Coober Pedy.  You’ll end up 90 feet down!

This was on the way to my recent visit to Coober Pedy in South Australia as part of our consultation for the Indigenous and Remote Service Delivery Traineeship Program, which we like to call the Community Business Skills Program.

I met three potential trainees who were absolutely thrilled to be taking part in our Community Business Skills Program later this month and early next year.  It was wonderful to hear that they were as passionate about the training as we are at BCA National Training Group.

What really astounded me was how struck they were by the way we had tailored the training materials to suit their needs.  They commented about how well the materials matched the work environment of Aboriginal Health and Aged Care Services in remote areas.  This was really rewarding to hear as it is exactly what the resource development team at BCA National has been working to achieve.  I left a copy of the sample materials with the trainees and their services who were happy to have a closer look and give us some more feedback to so we could be sure we’re delivering great training.

Word had already spread around town (which is best known for its opal mines and underground houses by the way) and I was introduced to four other people who wanted to be part of next year’s training.  Eyes lit up when we spoke about how this training aimed to help the trainees become the community Managers and CEOs of the future, and how we hoped that by doing the training they would feel more empowered to support their families, elders and communities.

There was also great excitement about the possibility of them coming to Sydney, seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and of course going SHOPPING!  The trainees also commented about the crazy traffic in Sydney - being a Sydneysider, it was hard to argue but I did reassure them that our team would be on hand to help navigate any challenges that were thrown their way.

Meeting the trainees and seeing where they work was such a great experience. I was thrilled to be able to learn from the students and their supervisors and to hear the passion they have for their work and communities.

What a privilege to be able to be part of this with them.   It seems Coober Pedyian’s take their own advice and “only walk forwards”!

Above: Mervyn Watson, Leyla Maree Sturat Likou-Resu and Krista Carbine (Trainees from Umoona Aged Care Corporation starting a Cert IV in Business in Sydney this month).

Above: Akabu Warria (Trainee completing a Diploma of Business) and Rose Berry (Supervisor, Umoona Tjutagku Health Service).

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On Saturday, October 30, a group of BCA National representatives attended the Annual KARI Dinner.

It was a very enjoyable night as we witnessed special performances by young and upcoming Indigenous talent; from singing and cultural dancing, to professional performances from Blake Ralph, Sarah Bertram and the Yulu-Gi Dance Company. We were also privileged enough to share our table with Jennifer Mason - Director General for the Department of Human Services who was a pleasure to speak and network with.

It wasn’t long before we all hit the floor and danced the night away. There was live music, as well as plenty of good spirits and happy feet to boogie with.

The night was truly a celebration of community, acknowledgement and talent. Most of all, it was a night to celebrate equality and oneness for all in the room.

“We’re all brothers and sisters here, it doesn’t matter who you are,” stated Wendy Chapman (BCA National KARI student).

This perfectly summarised the purpose of the night.

A special thank you to Bruce, Jenny, Sophia, Kaisha, Rhys and Lauren for attending on the night.

A special congratulations to Harry Callahan who coordinated the event as well as Kylie Miller, Troy Ruttley and the BCA National KARI students who performed a dance routine on the night - they were fantastic!

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Well, we made it!

I can remember when my Principal suggested that I enrol in the Certificate 3 course, School Support Services run by BCA.  I reluctantly agreed then proceeded to worry about how I was going to fit it into the busy schedule of a mother working full time, running a household and all the organisation that goes into two children, as well as leaving the Kindergarten teacher unassisted with 32 students and an extremely busy school office.

I was still a little negative when I arrived for my first session in September last year, but before the day was over I realised the worry had been unfounded.  My peers were all in the same position, women with equally busy lives all hoping to improve their knowledge in working with children.

Clare Boland was our trainer and from the first day made us all feel at ease.  Not only does Clare have a bubbly personality but a wonderful, positive energy that made us all feel capable of completing the modules with a high degree of competency.

Clare fits the bill of a perfect trainer as she is also a Primary teacher who can easily relate to support staff and was able to pass on valuable knowledge when working with us.

The content in each of the modules was very detailed and was obviously well researched by BCA.  After completing the eleven modules, I believe, as I am sure my peers do, that I could return to my school a much more capable member of staff.

I think the days of support staff only doing photocopying or cutting and pasting, although helpful to teachers, is over.  Support staff can never claim to have the knowledge of teachers but we can certainly contribute to the successful running of a classroom.  Sometimes we may be the only person privy to important information regarding a student as we have gained their confidence whilst working one on one with them.

Working with children can be a very satisfying job.  It can be frustrating when a child may take a whole term or two before we see any results but when those results become evident it really is worth all the effort.

Thank you to Bruce Callaghan and BCA for providing this course and for whetting my appetite for further study.  Thank you to Peter Webster and the CEO for supporting their staff to do this course.

Thank you to Jessica Frank who was our first point of contact and has followed our progress throughout the last eleven months.

I would also like to thank my Principal, Rose-Marie Hoekstra for encouraging me to do this course and I believe I am a better classroom assistant because of it.

And thank you to Clare Boland who not only was an exceptional trainer but also a very patient trainer, especially when we occasionally went off track during our sessions.  Believe it or not we were a very talkative group and Clare would gently direct us back on track.  Thank you also for putting up with those of us who were late in getting their assessments to you – not mentioning any names especially mine!  You never let us leave a session without making sure we thoroughly knew what was expected in our assessments and then you would mark them and return them with lightening speed.

For me one of the highlights of the course has been meeting and working with this wonderful group of women and I want to name each of them, Cathy, Colleen, Dianne Evelyn, Fiona, Karina, Lisa, Selana and Jennifer, it has truly been a pleasure working with you all for the last eleven months.

And finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Clare and BCA for giving me this opportunity (indeed the honour), of speaking today and Selana if you could join me we would like to take this opportunity to present Clare with a gift of appreciation.  Thank you Clare we couldn’t have done this without you.

Cindy Miller

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There are few things more daunting (or exciting) for an Office Manager than getting an entirely new office.  Moving in last December was the usual logistical nightmare, but we’re getting settled now.  Particularly since we now have our very own training rooms!

We have named one training room “Pirrama” which is what the Cadigal people of the local area called Pyrmont. We received support from the Metropolitain Local Aboriginal Land Council and are really excited to show respect and appreciation in this way.  The other room has a tiny, tiny water view, and that water is Blackwattle Bay, so this has been called the “Blackwattle”, part of our beautiful new suburb and the bay between us and our old home, Balmain.

We have had a few small training groups in the rooms already and love the bustle of having our students amongst us. You are all more than welcome to pop in at any time if you need help accessing a computer, printer or just to have a peek at the new venue. Just give me a call.

Olivia

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Today was the Asia Pacific E-Learning and Training Awards. The ceremony was held as part of the Learn X Conference and is put together by Training Australia Magazine.

The hall at the Sydney Convention centre was filled with eLearning and Learning Management software companies, because the conference itself is for cutting edge learning tools and innovation in training delivery. We were very excited to see our new Learning Management System (Capabiliti) and our online tutorial tool (Adobe) represented in the crowd.

Mariam, Kara and Myself represented the team with Ariane, Celine and Kate busy across the state. We accepted the award for our work implementing the New South Wales Productivity Places Program funding within BCA National.  While the implementation was new and exciting the outcome was even better than expected creating training opportunities for clients and the public at a low or even no cost at all. Since this government funding is not always available we really tried to make the most of what was given to us so that all current and future students would benefit.  It really felt great to give this opportunity to those who wanted it most. Life-long learning is a journey that needs to be continuously taken up or the opportunities will pass right by you.

The funding prompted new programs and new markets and opened opportunities for our existing students too.  It certainly was hard work at the time, but something we are all very proud of. It seems silly but having such recognition really does feel great, We care a lot about our students and trying to get things working as well as we can, so recognition is always welcome.  I know how wonderful my students feel at graduation- I think this was the same feeling!

We have our fingers crossed for more awards to come, but in the meantime, it’s back to work!

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On the 10^th of March this year, I decided to make a huge leap and shave my head as part of The Leukemia Foundation’s ‘World’s Greatest Shave’. At first, it was a frightening and exhilarating prospect, and basically just an un-thoughtout idea I had whilst feeling very adventurous and spontaneous one day. When I passed the idea around the office, the team immediately supported me and encouraged me to go through with it. I was still a bit nervous and hesitant at the idea of losing my golden locks, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that shaving my head would be the most perfect gesture that I could make for two of the most special people in my life. One being my Grandfather John, who has admiringly battled (and once again beaten!) Lymphoma for over 20 years. He is a strong man and I love him dearly. The other inspiration is my beautiful friend Amy, whose ever-magnificent sister Lisa unfortunately succumbed to Breast Cancer on the 2^nd of March 2010 after a hard 10 year fight against this horrible disease. Thus, I decided to do it in her memory.

So at the crack of dawn on the morning of the big shave, I rocked up to Martin Place in Sydney City, where a large group of fellow “shavers” and “colour-ers” were meeting up. It was an amazing atmosphere: the positivity and sense of community was really wonderful. I quickly pushed away any trace of vanity and self-consciousness and stepped up on the stage to get shaved! It felt great! I wasn’t nervous at all, but was certainly a bit emotional inside.

The thing is, so many people in the world don’t even have the option of losing or keeping their hair. That’s why I thought this event would be such a lovely gesture – so that I could try to comprehend the extremely harsh reality these individuals face. I know that it is only a tiny gesture, and that cancer sufferers experience much more hardship than just losing their locks, but it certainly is a very rewarding and liberating thing to do!

In the end, I ended up raising approximately $1300.00, so I’m pretty happy with that effort, and am so thankful and appreciative for all the generous donations from friends, family and workmates!! It’s a very worthy cause and this has been a wonderful experience. Can’t wait till next year!

Lauren Cuneen

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Last Wednesday 3^rd Feb, it was a pleasure to attend the first graduation ceremony of 2010. This ceremony was for the 2010 Community Services NSW, Bathurst NGO Certificate IV in Business and Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management) dual qualification group. (To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure any of us could say the whole qualification title in one breath!) As all participants arrived bright and early, most seemed just as delighted to catch up with fellow classmates as receive their certificates.

It was also such a delight to have John Purcell from Community Services NSW speak on behalf of their organisation to congratulate and support the new graduates. Once all participants were presented with certificates and graduates were congratulated, the graduates had organised some very sweet surprise thank you gifts for their trainer and myself presented by Leanne Ferris and Leanne Shackell. After the presentations of certificates, gifts and congrats, all attended a delightful lunch catching up and sharing stories. It was a pleasure to see, that not only had the students gained practical skills and knowledge to apply in their current workplace but the friendship bonds they had made were guaranteed to stick with them for a lifetime.

Congratulations to the 2010 Community Services NSW, Bathurst NGO Certificate IV in Business and Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management) dual qualification group!

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