SWAN Hill’s George Lay Park played host to an afternoon of fun on Wednesday as children and families were invited to Mallee District Aboriginal Service’s Closing the Gap event.
Facepainting, a jumping castle and a wide range of sporting equipment were a hit with the children, while MDAS staff were on hand to speak about their range of services.
The event was held during the school holidays, two weeks after Close the Gap Day on the third Thursday in March, to allow for more children to join in the fun.
MDAS health promotion co-ordinator Kirsty Hampton said the move allowed families to gain a better understanding of closing the gap.
“A lot of mob think that closing the gap is just about things like cheaper medication,” she said.
“Obviously we want our mob to understand what closing the gap is about, but it’s also just about making sure we can educate other people as well.
“We all suffer from the same things, things like diabetes, chronic disease and COPD.
“It was just really nice to be able to have those conversations with people and show them this easy-to-understand information.
“We don’t shy away from anyone.
“I think that moving forward, obviously it is catered to us mob, but it’s also such a big thing to make everyone aware of the issues.”
Booths with information ranged from vaccination information to a healthy-eating station and were open to all people.
Ms Hampton said that it was important to share messaging about Indigenous healthcare to all people to show them what it was really about.
“We want everybody to be aware of this stuff,” she said.
“While the information and resources are catered to Indigenous Australians I do still pull national and global statistics so that there’s a real comparison that I can show.
“Breaking down any barrier, in any capacity, having those hard conversations, is such a needed thing.
“Regardless of race or colour we’re all Australian.
“I think that if we can all go on that journey together, and share our stories, that will make up a big part of closing the gap.”
