Did you know that the date 4th August was originally used the celebrate the birthdays of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were taken away from their families when they were young so they who did not know when their birthday’s were? These children were known as The Stolen Generations.
According to The Family Matters Report 2019, Indigenous children are 2.5 times more likely to be vulnerable to developmental disadvantages than non-Indigenous children and only half as likely to access early childcare services.
This is why NCNS focuses on creating culturally safe spaces for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children and their families. We do this at our Koolyangarra Aboriginal Family Centre in Cranebrook and run programs such as Aboriginal Supported Playgroups, Transition to school programs for Aboriginal children, Developmental Outreach Days and more. To see our Aboriginal programs, click here.
This year’s theme for NATSI Childrens Day was ‘Little Voices, Loud Futures’ focusing on the bright futures of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children and their voices to be empowered by their culture, speak their truth and create a brighter future for all Australians.
Each year NCNS, holds a National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day event at our Koolyangarra Aboriginal Family Centre with a variety of entertaining and engaging activities for Aboriginal children.
We spray painted hands big and super small.
We had chipboard cut outs of Australia which the children got to colour. We had Australian Animals colour scratch activity.
Children big and small enjoyed a range of sensory play.
Our Aboriginal Community Worker, Carolyn Gilbert, cooked a delicious chicken soup and beef stew that melted in your mouth for everyone to enjoy as well as some healthy fruit for dessert.
We loved seeing some new families come and enjoy activities, link up with other families and show interest in attending NCNS groups in the future.
It was an amazing day celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their cultures. It is important to continue to do this every day so that these children have the best shot at a bright future and to create a better future for all Australians.
View our gallery from the day here:
https://ncns.passgallery.com/-natsichildrensday2023