Catholic Outlook Magazine | Ordinary Time| 2023 Issue

Aboriginal Catholic
Care: helping
First Nations
People through
tough times
STORY PARRAMATTA CATHOLIC FOUNDATION
Led by Aboriginal people,
for Aboriginal people.
Community Outreach Worker Jaycee, Aunty Rhonda, and
Deanne. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
Aboriginal Catholic Care provides a community
drop-in centre for First Nations People in Western
Sydney so they can access practical assistance
and learning opportunities. As times become
overwhelmingly difficult, your generosity will help
us continue the life-changing support we provide
for our First Nations sisters and brothers, and
anyone in need.
In launching the Bishop’s Good Samaritan Appeal, Very
Rev Luis Fernando Montano Rodriguez, our Diocese’s
Episcopal Vicar for Social Welfare, says: “In these
increasingly trying times, Aboriginal Catholic Care has
an even greater challenge to open its doors wider for
many more of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, and
neighbours in need.
“Right now, First Nations People in our community are
experiencing homelessness, lack of access to social
services, unmet basic needs, limited opportunities for
personal development and social exclusion,” he says.
The good news is that our Aboriginal Catholic
Care centre in Emerton is playing an important
role in helping First Nations People, with thanks to
community support.
As one of four Catholic Care community drop-in centres
in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, Aboriginal
Catholic Care is truly a place ‘led by Aboriginal
people, for Aboriginal people’. The centre provides
a sense of belonging to First Nations People and offers
a range of free activities including a yarning circle,
parenting programs for young mums, art and craft
classes, literacy classes and technology support.
“We sit down and have a yarn and a cuppa. It’s really
nice. I especially love the stories from the Aunts and
yarning with the Elders, listening to their stories about
the old days and what tribes they’re from. It’s very
similar to what we do back home in the village,” says
the centre’s Aboriginal Community Outreach Worker,
Jaycee Edwards.
Aunty Rhonda, a 71-year-old Bundjalung
Elder, agrees: “It’s a family, giving of each other.
It’s like home.”
The benefits that Aunty Rhonda has received from
Aboriginal Catholic Care in Emerton have been
significant. With a limited and disrupted childhood
education, Aunty Rhonda has improved her reading
and writing skills by participating in Aboriginal Catholic
Care’s free weekly literacy classes.
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