Report: Lillian Leptos
Melbourne has only recently discovered Thornbury, but it has always been wonderfully interesting, and an important place for Melbourne’s Indigenous population.
In the centre of the extensive Aboriginal centre on Wurundjeri land, just off St Georges Road on Watt Street, is the Yappera child care centre. Yappera means “belonging place” and over the years it has become a magnet for Aboriginal children, their parents, carers and the wider Melbourne Indigenous community.
It’s at Yappera that a squad of William Ruthven volunteers have chosen to undertake their community service. Zara, Alex and Renee are hard at work when I arrive for a visit on a day of wild, windy weather, where the knifing winds have driven all activities indoors.
Renee is on the mat, playing with the toddlers. She understands the importance of imaginative play and of getting down to the kids’ level to work among them. Though teenagers are notoriously self-conscious, there is a total lack of inhibition as she dons the sparkly hat that the little ones insist she puts on, and they love her for it. Childcare is a world away from the career as a paramedic that Renee plans to pursue, “but both childcare and medicine have in common that they are about helping people,” she explains.
Alex is also drawn to a career that blends science and a strong focus on people and wants to follow a career in nursing. Nursing is a demanding and diverse role, filled with minute-to-minute judgments on patient care and requiring constant problem-solving. Clear, compassionate communication, flexibility and time management are only some of the skills required of a nurse and the experience in the childcare centre is an excellent introduction for Alex.
Behind the appearance of Alex just playing with the children there are all the building blocks that will help the development of these little people. Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of children Through play, the children are learning about the world and themselves. They are developing the skills they need for learning and positive relationships.
There is music playing somewhere in the centre and like the seductive magic of the Pied Piper’s tunes, it reels me in. In the next room I find Zara and again all the action is floor based. A visiting musician is playing guitar and a slew of musical instruments are amongst the children. Working with the children is half education and half entertainment. This is the best possible room for Zara, who is already a singer and planning a career as an entertainer.
When Zara speaks about her work at Yappera, her mature outlook on life is clear.
“I see this work as a job,” she says. “I have been given a big responsibility and I want to live up to the faith people have shown in me.”
While centre manager Michelle is grateful for the help that the William Ruthven students are giving her organisation, there is a strong quid pro quo. Our students are gaining as much as they are giving to their community work.