In 2021, Koya Aboriginal Corporation were awarded a grant of $35,965 for their Koordoormitj Djookian (Sisters) Club project.
The project aimed to support Aboriginal and other vulnerable girls aged 11 to 17 years in the City of Swan in Perth, Western Australia, providing a local, safe, healthy and supportive female-only gathering space on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Koya have now closed off their grant acquittal so we thought we would share some of the key statistics from their project.
There was a strong focus on education, health, wellbeing, fitness, safety and Noongar culture as key components of the program. Program sessions included:
- Noongar culture, dance, language and cooking using traditional ingredients
- Mental health, mental wellbeing and self-care workshops
- Health and fitness workshops
- Sexual health education
- Social media awareness
- Relationships and consent
- Menstrual health
- Goal setting, arts and crafts, fun activities and excursions
Statistical Overview
- 87 participants
- 92% of participants were Aboriginal girls and young women; 8% were non-Aboriginal.
- 63% of participants were aged 11 – 13 years; 37% were aged 14 – 17 years, with girls aged 17 representing 13% of total participants.
- There were 555 occasions of attendance at the program during the delivery period.
- There were 684 occasions of transport provided for participants to enable them to be transported to attend the program and dropped home safely at the end of the program, with transport significantly enhancing girls’ safety and regular participation.
- 2 Aboriginal staff coordinated and delivered the program, supported by 9 volunteers.
At each program session, participants were provided with afternoon tea, dinner, transport to and from the program and access to free personal hygiene and sanitary products. Provision of safe transport has been critical to regular attendance, with many participants and their families impacted by significant transport disadvantages. Similarly, provision of healthy food and drink was essential to encourage participation, support good nutrition and to assist participants to increase their knowledge of healthy, affordable food choices and
develop their food literacy and cooking skills.
Participants shared dinner together each night and this helped foster friendships and relationships amongst the participant group and provided opportunities to discuss matters of interest and concern for the girls in a safe and supportive environment. Provision of personal hygiene and sanitary products helped ensure that any period poverty could be addressed, with many girls reporting that they struggled to afford menstrual products.
There was also a lot of demand from girls aged under 11 years, which did not fall within the scope of the grant proposal. We addressed this by running a ‘Little Djooks’ program pilot, utilising Koya funds, which was very popular amongst primary school aged girls.
“We are very happy to report that Djookian Club will continue to be provided in 2024 and beyond, having secured some program funding to enable this to happen. The gap in local programs and services that Djookian Club addresses continues to exist and we remain strongly committed to the provision of this important initiative. Going forward, we are focused on increasing the number of older girls participating and on providing activities that separate younger girls from older girls activities” said Grace Hollin, Executive Manager for Koya Aboriginal Corporation.
“We are very grateful for the support from 100 Women and have enjoyed attending 100 Women events throughout the year. We intend to continue to support 100 Women through participation in events and fundraising activities in the future”
For more information and video updates on our grant to Koya – view them here.
