The admin team started off 2021 back in the centre and really enjoyed being back working together in the office and seeing community. We were thrilled that we were able to get through our massive NAIDOC Cup event in June this year, that we missed out on in 2020 due to lockdown. This is a big job for our team with lots of planning involved to make sure the day is wonderful for everyone. The kids from our community got to enjoy this huge event which was a massive highlight for us this year and shortly after we found ourselves in lockdown again. Our staff adjusted quickly, having done this in the previous year and moved some of our programs to being delivered online.
The length of this lockdown was tough on all of us, especially the anxiety of not knowing exactly when we would be able to go out again. Not being able to work together as a team was difficult and we really missed working in person with our community. We did our best to keep connected online but nothing beats good old-fashioned face to face connection.
It was amazing to be able to finally get back in the centre in November and seeing community start come through our centres again. It was especially heart-warming for our admin team to see our Golden Oldies Seniors group who meet at South Penrith Neighbourhood Centre, be able to come back together after months of lockdown. They were so excited to get out and about and catch up with their friends.
The admin team are hopeful that we may be able to return to some sort of normality when we come back to the office next year. We want to wish our community a safe, happy and merry Christmas and we hope that you have a relaxing time with your loved ones over Christmas and New Year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2022!
NCNS Koolyangarra Aboriginal Family Centre would like to wish everyone a beautiful Christmas and a Safe New Year.
The hardest challenge we faced in lockdown was not being able to run all our programs online. This was hard as we normally would see everyone face to face and have those one-on-one yarns with community.
The good thing that came out of lockdown was being able to spend more time with Family. This is always priceless.
We’re looking forward to seeing you all back in the new year with some exciting new programs and the continuation of our existing programs.
The staff here at Kooly wish you all a Safe and Merry Christmas. Enjoy every minute with your loved ones and see you Black & Deadly People in the New Year.
Merry Christmas from our Families to Your Family. Bring on 2022!!
All of us from the Communities and Children team want to wish you a happy and relaxed holiday season. It’s been a pleasure spending time with you all this year, we missed those of you who couldn’t join us online and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year. We hope the year ahead holds many happy moments for you all!
As with everyone in 2021, the NCNS FFT-CW team had a rollercoaster of a year. It had certainly begun with a brighter outlook than 2020 did, however, the Covid red flags were out and waving by mid-year, and we found ourselves dusting off masks, refreshing our bottles of sanitiser and calling all our clients with the not so joyful news that we could be returning to virtual sessions. With the families that we had already met and begun counselling with, doing sessions via phone or Zoom was tiresome, but not impossible. In fact, we’d go so far as to say we did some damn fine work with them, and they learned some new skills, and made some great shifts, so that by the end of six months, there was something to celebrate. Yet the families that were referred to us by DCJ after the hard lockdown had started, were experiencing so many extra challenges brought about by isolation and extra financial stress, that they found it hard to also engage with FFT-CW counselling. So, we took the view of acceptance, and that we were all simmering in the lockdown stew together, families, counsellors, colleagues, our own families, pets and friends. As far as doing FFT work, this meant that instead of being highly energetic and persistent and doing lots of intense sessions, we mixed it up and we connected via low stress phone calls and short Zoom sessions. And as a team, we met regularly on the screen each week. We took it in turns to tell bad jokes, swap coping skills, commiserate on the rough days and celebrate where we could, altogether, as a unit. It was good to see our NCNS colleagues on monthly Zoom calls as well. Ah! And we recruited and onboarded two new staff in lockdown, and we’re so pleased to welcome Christy (covering the Lithgow area) and Wendy (joining the Penrith team). Needless to say, we are looking forward to some rest over the holiday period and wish everyone peace and joy.
We here at CTG want to wish all our Mob a safe and happy holiday season. This year has not been without its challenges for us all but having the opportunity to work with you all through this difficult time has made it all worth it for us. We are always in awe of the resilience of the community we work with to overcome all the daily health challenges thrown at them in the middle of a pandemic and still have time for a light-hearted laugh and to pass down your knowledge with a good yarn. We truly do take inspiration from you all and you make this job worthwhile for us. we look forwarded to catching up with you and doing it all again in 2022. Stay deadly.
I would like to do the peace parenting course