Pressing pause this NAIDOC week
Pressing pause this NAIDOC week
Koorie Youth Council
Although, NAIDOC has been postponed to later in the year, it’s still important to take time this week to celebrate who you are as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young person, for all your Blakness. NAIDOC for me, has always been a time to press pause on other demands and be present. Usually it’s a week of seeing mob you haven’t seen in too long, biggest feeds, aunties and uncles that cuddle you that tight you physically feel their love and seeing the colours red, black and yellow throughout the crowd at the march.
Do something that makes your spirit feel strong. Give one of your old people a call this week and yarn to them. Message a brother boy or sister girl you may not often speak to. Read or watch something about our mob, our heroes, our history, our culture.
This year I’ll be doing the NAIDOC March virtually, an initiative by a deadly Blak business Clothing the Gap. I’ll be marching this year by walking 10km around my neighbourhood. I march in honour of my old people who paved the way for me to have the spaces I have. I march for all the beautiful Blak babies in our communities, for their futures and I march with honour and gratitude to the matriarchs in our communities.
You come from the oldest living culture in the world, you are inherently strong and you never walk alone, you walk with 80,000 years worth of knowledge, strength and wisdom. Your mob and your community love you and walk with you.
Leyla Quartermaine is KYC’s Marram Nganyin Project Officer. Leyla is a proud Ballardong-Noongar woman from Western Australia and has grown up in Victoria. She has a strong passion for giving back to community and children in out of home care. Leyla has a background in drug and alcohol counselling, primary health care and education support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Leyla was an Executive member for three years and presented at the 2019 Koorie Youth Summit as a special guest panellist.
KYC is supporting Clothing The Gap‘s Virtual NAIDOC March/Run by sponsoring young mob 13-28 years to join us for this deadly event. If you’d like to join the KYC team this weekend – we’ll send you a code so you can participate for free!
Send us an email with why you want to do the march or who you are marching for and we’ll send through the code. This opportunity is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people 13-28 years.
Learn more about the Clothing the Gap NAIDOC Virtual march/run.