Were you aware that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples die 10 – 17 years younger than other Australians? Were you aware that it’s even worse in some of the more isolated parts of Australia? We were astounded by this and the entire health and education community here at Rivendell wanted to bring together our community to show our support of Indigenous health and education equality.
On Thursday, 6th of April we hosted a Close the Gap Morning Tea in conjunction with the School Links, Got It and Aboriginal Education teams. It was an opportunity for our community to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation whilst also increasing awareness of the large education and health gap and showing our support for a long-term commitment with adequate funding, and investment in real partnerships to reducing the gap.
Our Close the Gap Morning tea was opened by Aunty Fay Carroll who led our Acknowledgement of Country. A number of stands were set up where a range of delicious cakes including BBQ Johnny Cakes were available for a gold donation. An information stand housed literature about Close the Gap and we also had a computer hub where each of us signed the Close the Gap pledge.
You too can sign the pledge here.