Carer Cultural Day - September 2022

24 November 2022

It was a great day all round at the Foster Care Association of Victoria, Carer Cultural Day held at Rippleside Park near Geelong on Tuesday 20th September.

We were joined by 14 Carers and 41 children.  The weather was on our side and the sun was beaming throughout the day.

Melinda Kennedy, a Wadawurrung woman, opened with a smoking ceremony, and acknowledgement of country, which was enjoyed by all attendees. We were lucky to have Melinda share her cultural artefacts, like possum skins and clap sticks, and giving insight into the rich history of the First Peoples of Australia by identifying Aboriginal language.  After a nice, healthy lunch, Melinda invited the attendees to get into groups of specific animals and dance around the circle together. The children giggled (perhaps at the expense of their carers) but it was all in good fun.

To end the day, the children participated in cultural art and craft activities including sand art, and colouring in native animals. Both younger and older children joined in or took away some of the activities to keep them busy on their journey home.

Here are a couple of comments from our carers that attended:

“The presenter was very knowledgeable and shared some marvellous cultural information about her people, language, and country. I especially enjoyed hearing about the water bowl and water ceremony”

”The relaxed atmosphere and presentation of information easily understood”

We look forward to bringing you more Cultural events throughout 2023!

Look out for opportunities to join in our Cultural Days and upcoming Learning and Development on the Carer KaFÉ Training Sessions Page.

Don’t forget to sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest Carer KaFÉ information, as well as like and follow us on Facebook to see what’s coming up in 2023!