POSITION STATEMENT
To Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Ngroo Education Aboriginal Corporations understands the truthful history of this country and the genocidal actions of many of those before us from the earliest steps taken on your land by European people. We understand that this history has caused unimaginable grief and ongoing pain to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for loss of country, family, language and culture. We understand our continued suffering with declining health, increased incarceration, increased child removals, dislocation in education and generally poorer life outcomes than other Australians. We understand and acknowledge our continuing frustration with policy expectations that over many years have not delivered sustainable social change. We are truly sorry.
To address this apology, we will find ways to move forward together:
We will acknowledge and keep all these disturbing facts in our minds.
Avoid using top down approach in deciding what is best to fix this situation
is by listening to you, yarning and then walking together to improve outcomes in education for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Acknowledge that Elders and our community best know what will work to deliver positive outcomes, with our role being to assist the process by informing and collaborating with teachers, early childhood education and care services, health service providers and all other services providers in the broader community.
We promise to walk together with you as you determine the path.
OUR HISTORY
Ngroo Education Incorporated began in 2008 with a conversation between a non-Aboriginal teacher, a young Aboriginal mother and an Aboriginal Elder who wondered why there were very few Aboriginal children in the preschool in Western Sydney when there was a large surrounding population of Aboriginal families. This began a long journey of the development of the Walking Together program, Ngroo Education Incorporated with results that have improved the engagement of Aboriginal children in early childhood education across NSW by 50% in those participating services.
Ngroo Education acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of our lands we work on, and we acknowledge our Ancestor's, our Elders and our communities.
Our office sits on Darug land.
Budyari yanna muru - go on a good walk path.
Significant support for the work of Ngroo Education since our formation in 2011 has come from:
