Mentoring

“Our mentoring programs are filled with skills such as critical and creative thinking, communication and collaboration, they also help develop non-cognitive skills like self-confidence and teamwork”.

Uncle Boomerang

Every day people we meet or know guide us through their actions, achievements and words; who are these role models and what qualities do they possess that result in others wanting to mimic those actions.

We provide both ‘One on One’ positive role modelling and mentoring sessions and also do small groups of up to 12 individuals.

These sessions can range from a minimum of one hour up to a full day’s activities and can be applied to any gender.

Over the years we have gained an insight into what enables people to tell their stories and to rebuild their lives and communities. We celebrate our ability to work together in the present to achieve common goals that bring good to our communities. We remember the past with both its triumphs and its traumas and we recognise the wide diversity of backgrounds that we all come from. We also share a vision of the future where strong leadership provides hope and an elimination of lateral violence and other issues. We call this the Proper Way.

We can assist communities to enable groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women to mentor the next generation. We learn the tools of visual storytelling and ways of engaging our younger ones. Then, they are skilled-up to teach the younger generation to listen to and explore the stories associated with language, lore and land while engaging in activities that make learning both interesting and transformative. Finally, they are enabled to pass on the skills required for transferring knowledge to the wider community through a variety of communication techniques.

Aims of our sessions:

Resilience building.
Understanding and coping with obstacles and difficulties.
Mentoring and relationship building through the transferal of cultural knowledge.
Learning to build respectful relationships.
Building a sense of identity.
Build resilience and learning to understand themselves, allowing the individual to be the best that they can be.
Assisting youth to be accountable for their decisions and behaviour.
Propel them to reach for their fullest potential.
Assisting youth to be respectful of self and others.
To be better informed about other cultures.
To be comfortable with one’s self.
Courage to follow your dreams.
Sharing the load and teamwork.

Mentoring Workshops and Activities

Walks in parklands, rainforests, National Parks or Botanical Gardens
Traditional Games

Aboriginal Art: Didgeridoo’s; clap sticks; boomerangs; canvas; bark or river rocks
Weaving with natural local fibres
Traditional Tools and utensils display and discussion construction
Traditional Aboriginal foods and medicines display, walk and talk
Aboriginal Culture and History explained and discussion
Dreamtime Story telling
Personal Story sharing
Dance Lessons and Songs
Music: Didgeridoo and Clap Sticks playing lessons
Stone Tool Making