Another Retrograde Step:

This Government is trying to reverse the steps we’ve made forward towards a better future. One local example is removing funding from The Aboriginal Children and Family Centre, Bulup Wilam, which is running as a very successful Early Childhood Learning Centre. The establishment of trust and understanding has taken time to build within the Aboriginal Community. Bulup Wilam, means Children’s Place in Woi Wurrung language. It is a place where Aboriginal children can learn about their Aboriginal identity; where their self esteem is being nurtured to help build each child’s full potential.

Building community support has taken time and now we find that the funding is to be removed from 30^th June 2014. Children’s lives should not be treated as a political football. These people deserve our community support. This supportive infrastructure is serving to build a better future for people who are struggling in many ways to make sense of their lives, to change their expectations and aspirations for themselves and their children. The effects of ‘invasion’, colonization, ‘stolen generation’; assimilation dominates the lives of all the Bullup Wilam families.

Unless Governments, (State and /or Federal) and the wider community recognize and acknowledge this, nothing will change and the gap will remain. Overt and covert racism is alive and well in Australia. Please join me with your comments to support this very worthwhile initiative, before it’s too late. The following is a newspaper article if you’d like further information:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/federal-indigenous-affairs-spokesman-shayne-neumann-says-thomastowns-bubup-wilam-for-early-learning-should-be-expanding/story-fnglenug-1226955983484