Healthy Harold embraced by Doomadgee Aboriginal community
Tuesday, 4 Jun 2024
It takes our educators a day and half to travel 2,200 kilometres to reach Doomadgee State School, in Queensland’s remote northwest Gulf Country but the annual trip to the Aboriginal community is worth every mile.
Life Ed Queensland Program Delivery Manager and Educator, Sue Osmond says the Doomadgee visit not only brings plenty of smiles, but also delivers vital education, health and safety messages to the community’s young people.
The Doomadgee community shows remarkable resilience and strength in the face of very significant health challenges and is always working towards positive change.
As educators, we’ve witnessed so much progress in the time we have been visiting the school. It’s incredible when students remind us about health messages they learned with us six years ago, so the knowledge really sticks with them.
As educators, we’ve witnessed so much progress in the time we have been visiting the school. It’s incredible when students remind us about health messages they learned with us six years ago, so the knowledge really sticks with them.
Ongoing health challenges remain for First Nations people, and the magnitude of health disparities is often greater in remote areas. According to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey released in 2019,
- 46% of people had at least one chronic condition,
- 17% of people two years and over had anxiety and 13% had depression,
- 37% of people 15 years and over smoked daily,
- 37% of children 2–14 years were overweight/obese.
Much more needs to be done to close the gap in communities across Australia, yet the positive long-term health impacts being seen in Doomadgee have inspired our Life Ed team.
To see the relationships strengthen and grow over eight years of being in community and to witness the exceptional learning and growth of the students, is inspirational. It’s a privilege to play a part in that.
