Thank you for empowering me every day to be better and to do better by Leyla Quartermaine
Thank you for empowering me every day to be better and to do better by Leyla Quartermaine
Koorie Youth Council
I recently bought Brigg’s new children’s book, Our Home, Our Heartbeat. In the beginning of the book there is a quote from Briggs that reads, ‘our job is to be good, so you can be great’.
That’s really it isn’t it, it is our job to be good, so our children and future generations have the spaces to be great, to thrive and to dream big.
Our culture lives through our children, through stories passed down by our elders to our youngest members of our communities.
Children really do have this incredible ability to make us better people without even knowing. They love us unconditionally and so purely, for all that we are. A lot of children come into this world and save people lives just by being.
I have nephews and a god son and I want nothing more than for them to grow up always being proud of who they are as Aboriginal people. I want them to feel safe to celebrate their culture.
So, to all the Blak children:
You are important, valued and loved.
You are inherently strong and your future is your own.
You come from the oldest living culture in the world, you have 80,000 years of knowledge, stories wisdom and strength that runs through your blood.
Don’t ever let anyone gammin’ your deadly.
Thank you for empowering me every day to be better and to do better.
Leyla and her godson Silas
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 panelist.