The first and most important factor when going to in to community, is to ensure you find the right people to assist you. This ties back in to developing relationships within the community.
The Aboriginal family network incorporates an incredible support network, and once these relationships are established you will have a variety of people to turn to for advice and support.
Within the school environment, the Principal and Deputy Principal will be happy to assist you and guide you through any questions or challenges you may face, professionally and even personally. You will find the other teaching staff to be more than welcoming and they will most likely become a major part of your life for guidance and support.
The Language and Culture Team in Maningrida is also located within the school. I would recommend seeking advice and support from the L&C Team prior to seeking support in the community as this will be your first point of contact.
Other people who have spent a lot of times in communities, who travel in and out from other organisations will also provide a world full of knowledge and being in a small remote town, you will most likely get to know these people and be able to have an outside support network as well.
The 5 RightsThe 5 Rights is a framework for community engagement and is a great resource to use to begin the developing stages of relationships within a community (Maningrida JET Centre, 2004)
Please see image to the right. This framework discusses how finding the right people is key, then making sure you are organising a right time to meet with them, be sure it is the right place, you are using the right language; do you need an interpreter? and of course, being mindful of how it should happen after being informed by the right people. |
Induction for new staff
On arrival, you will be given a Cultural Induction presented by the Language and Culture Team. This will also help and guide you with any cultural sensitivities you may need to be aware of. It also highlights the Aboriginal Skin System and is a highly useful visual resource when beginning to understand relationships.
References:
Maningrida Job, Education and Training (JET) Centre. (2014). The 5 Rights. Retrieved via email from McCall, A (2015).
The Language and Culture Team Maningrida. (2015). Induction for new staff. Retrieved via email from Scholes. M. (2015).
Maningrida Job, Education and Training (JET) Centre. (2014). The 5 Rights. Retrieved via email from McCall, A (2015).
The Language and Culture Team Maningrida. (2015). Induction for new staff. Retrieved via email from Scholes. M. (2015).