Though the role of the Georgian students was less defined than previous years, the flexibility (and often disorganized) nature of the camp seemed to give the kids the confidence to let their personalities shine.  Despite this lack of structure, some of the most valuable time we spent with the kids was during informal activities; painting together under the tree or laying by the campfire trying to make shapes out of the passing clouds.  The local kids were incredibly energetic and consistently woke up earlier, and went to bed later than ourselves.  They were natural sportsmen and women, and their willingness to partake in the games of the militantly competitive Richard Pengelley was fabulous. Michelle Reinders ran a ‘Mini-Olympics’ throughout the week, consisting of leaderball, tug of war, rugby, ultimate Frisbee and far too many wheel and barrow races (games made exponentially more arduous on sand).  Led by ‘that footy guy’ Josh Chadwick, the Red Bulls monopolized the competition and defeated my own luckless team, the Crocs, whose members had a penchant for deserting the field once we started losing.

The appearance of a Looma elder, Pastor Kelly was quite extraordinary.  Pastor Kelly had spent the past two years living in Zimbabwe. The Looma kids were entranced  by her cautionary words of making smart decisions and appreciating the opportunities granted to them.  The intrinsic respect the Looma boys had for the wonderfully quiet and assured  Looma elder and camp co-organiser, Wayne Milgin (otherwise known as ‘Big’ Wayne because his delightful son Lil’ Wayne was also on the camp), was also incomparable to anything I’d witnessed before.  Observing the kids response to traditionally ‘white’ institutions provided the impetus for much discussion during our daily reflection and debrief sessions with Richard. Many of us felt bound by a sense of helplessness; we wanted to impart our knowledge to the kids and have them take the initiative to take advantage of opportunity. However, after observing the kids interaction with Aboriginal Elders, it became increasingly apparent that instituting positive change in these communities can only be successful if instigated from the Elders themselves (as has been the case in making Looma a “dry” community).

Looma itself is an intriguing place, and a few of us were lucky enough to drive through the community on one of the many trips to the General Store after we had run short of some essential camp supplies (usually water, toilet paper, milk).  The town was being cleaned in preparation for a funeral and despite this, I was struck by how strewn with litter it was.  Though the school appeared very well maintained, many of the cars on the street had no wheels and some of the houses were in a state of disrepair. Certainly, it is a sobering realization that while Looma is a shining light of success in the spectrum of Aboriginal Communities in the Kimberley, its appearance and upkeep was far below what we’d consider typical in Perth.

Traditionally, the camp has concluded with a concert on the final night. However the funeral of an Elder who had passed away in the week preceding the camp meant that most kids left early, and no community members would be able to attend the concert.  These distinctions from the typically ‘white’ way of life became increasingly transparent throughout the week as we learned that community members were forbidden to mention the name of the deceased, and that loud activities, such as drumming, were forbidden.  In often trying circumstance, the St George’s College group eventually became accustomed to the ‘kairos’ (a Greek concept of ‘seasonal’ or the ‘right’ time as opposed to the ‘chronos’ of the clock to which we seem addicted in our lives) approach of time in Looma also known as ‘Kimberly Time’.  The kids and camp organizers were very prepared to live for now, while we Georgians were concerned with whatever activity was planned next (and personally, knowing what time of day it was).  We also became accustomed to the kids (apparently) being each other’s siblings as they seemed to address a disproportionate number of people as their ‘sister’ or ‘brother’.  The concept of death, time and family in Aboriginal culture is quite different to our own, and listening to, and observing the distinctions between ourselves was both humbling and intriguing.

A trip to Looma is a rewarding experience, it is not however a sort of ‘feel-good week of community service in an idyllic landscape’.  Rather, it is a precious opportunity to gain some first-hand knowledge and perspective on the operation of an Indigenous community in the Kimberley.  In fact, I often felt as though we had perhaps gained more from meeting the kids, than they had from exposure to us. Though the meeting was hopefully mutually beneficial, the exposure to such a group of gregarious and good-natured kids was wonderful and allowed us to develop a real camaraderie with the each other. Though being bitten by plague proportions of mosquitoes is unpleasant, and having Richard have you make a video diary when you haven’t showered for four days isn’t ideal, a trip to Looma is both character building and character questioning.  We’re incredibly fortunate and thankful to have had our Chaplain, and faithful bus-driver Richard spend the week with us.  We’re also incredibly thankful to the College (especially Mr. Munday and the Goodeve Foundation) and UWA (especially the Vice Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson) for financing this service learning opportunity.  Meeting the people of Looma is an opportunity that only presents itself to the people lucky enough to be living at St George’s College, and I hope that in years to come the community and College can continue to work together and run these camps.

Michelle Hepworth

TBD has not been delivering one on one mentoring in Looma, instead it has delivered mentoring by way of group activities.  Prior to 2008, these activities included producing a CD, Calendar and Video with funding from Clayton Utz Foundation.

These activities relied on experts visiting Looma and focussed on a small group of Looma students being involved. In 2008, TBD widened the target to be more inclusive and focussed on larger group activities which included Mentors (5^th Year medical students from RCS) visiting Looma to organise and participate in a variety of activities including:  assistance at school sports days; weekend and day visits that included arts workshops, team sport and goal setting workshops; attendance at annual Bible camp to assist with team sport activities.    In 2009 the move is to have TBD administered locally in the Kimberley to enable closer communities ties and networking and as a more cost effective model of operation.

Relationships have been well established at Looma with the community elders and youth, youth worker/Pastor, the school community and Health providers.  Support has been gained from Kimberley-based University of WA, Rural Clinical School Medical Students (Mentors).

Wyalkatchem is in the Wheatbelt  of Western Australia. It comprises 44 shires, 170 communities and a population of 72,431 (June 1999). It covers 154,862 square kilometres, extending southeast from Perth to Wagin. Yilgarn, Kondinin and Lake Grace Shires make up the eastern boundary, and the region incorporates some 200 kilometres of coastline to the north of Perth. It is divided into four main geographic regions:

• Avon is closest to the metropolitan area, with Northam as its commercial centre;
• Central Coastal and Central Midlands to the north, with Moora as its commercial centre,
• Central East, with Merredin as its commercial centre; and
• Central South, with Narrogin as its commercial centre.

Northam is the largest town with a population of 9764 people (town and surrounding area) followed by Narrogin with 5665 (town and surrounding area), Merredin with 3787 and Moora with 2592. Issues in the region differ greatly, especially when comparing regions supported by different industries-such as agricultural towns in the Wheatbelt compared with crayfishing towns on the coastal strip.

The Ministry of Planning predicts that in the next 10 years the four shires closest to Perth (Toodyay, Chittering, Gingin, Northam and York) will grow by a total of 2400. Other Wheatbelt shires will have zero or negative growth.
According to the Ministry for Planning population levels in the 16 to 24 age group remain dangerously low, falling from about 9000 in 2001 to a predicted 6500 in 2021. Over several years the trend has been for many young people in the Wheatbelt to leave their small communities to continue education or find work in larger centres. Others have left for social or lifestyle reasons or to pursue sporting activities. Young people struggle to find their place in the Wheatbelt and projects such as True Blue Dreaming are assisting the young people to stay in the Wheatbelt and achieve their goals.