Kintore School. Barbed wire, but very well looked after and respected by the community.
Kintore Trip May 5th - 7th 2008
Travelling west from Alice Springs about 6 and a half hours is a small community (they all are) of about 500 people. Yes, i would like you to use a map and find out where the place is yourself. It is near the West Australian border. It is another campus of Yirara College and has 2 legends of teachers who have been out there for a year. They are desperate for visitors and would love to see me or (and i sort of promised) groups of young people or older people visit and give them a hand anytime.
Please pray for David and Carolyn Cann because they really need it. They have been working with indigenous people for 30+ years and are getting toward the end of their careers. They are inspiring people.
Many of my thoughts will be random here, but I furiously scribbled down notes when any "incidents" occurred or some major thought came through what I experienced over 3 days (2 days of travel).
The community of Kintore
Still quite a traditional hunter and gatherer society, it is something they do quite well...even when it comes to money and seeking out ways to gather the resources we so readily offer them. This has its good and bad points, but may be worth a discussion at another time. Another big tradition, which is often hard to combat, and I do see elements of this at school here in town is the "Shame and Blame" culture. Shame is an incredible weight and I think spiritual heaviness that is on the
people and while they are lively people, great senses of humour, love their footy, love to talk with you.....they do feel shame quite easily. They don't like people who show off, are greedy, or seek to be the centre of attention. I often think Kurtis is very similar. He loves the attention, loves to be watched, but put him on the spot in front of people and he goes to jelly. Put this in "teenagers" or adults and you might have a little insight why things can often seem to stall in aboriginal society. The kids love to "dob" or blame others for their shortcomings and so payback, by way of a fist or push or tease is a way of saving face; both males and females included.
(Left: The school "oval")
We arrived in Kintore and were confronted immediately with a large number of camp dogs looking for food or attention. But also an interesting community scenario- "Sorry Camp". Basically a time of mourning and respect for someone who has died. The house where the person died is out of bounds and unfortunately, despite being a "Christian" community, the fear of death and the spirit world is very apparent. Rumour and superstition can run rampant, but we were outsiders and so were not privvy to everything that may have been circulating. A lot of people sitting in large groups, out of the way, and I guess waiting for the
word when the funeral would take place.
Kintore has only in the last couple of years moved away from a very bad petrol sniffing problem and Ganja (marijuana) influx. Alcohol is banned for everyone, including whites, but other evils can surface. Also, apparently, multiple stabbings had occurred, but this was something I wasn't told much about.
Despite this, the weather was magnificent, the people and the kids were really friendly and I got many waves and hellos as I walked round the community. The Canns (teachers) had pumped up my visit quite a bit apparently and so the population of the school rose dramatically for a couple of hours (27) while I was there...It faded by about 2:00pm (12), but I felt good. At night there was not a cloud in the sky and visibility was about 30 metres roughly. Blackness all around and so I dared not venture out and was quite happy to drive the 500 metres to the Canns house for tea and back to the school to sleep at night. Flies were bad. (
Side issue....My swallowed fly count is now up to 15. 8 swallowed in first term, 3 in one day. 4 while I was in Kintore. 2 during footy games I have played in).
The chance to "teach" PE out at Kintore was a great opportunity and I was extremely nervous, but again ready for the challenge. Having spent about 15 minutes planning what I was going to do, I had a shot. As always, I decided to do Basketball and Australian Rules Football, the girls like softball out here, but I was not ready to use something with bats just yet. As I wrote earlier, shame is a big thing so to get them to do something unfamiliar is hard and I have to do quite a bit of coaxing and encouragement. Had an awesome first session and this helped increase numbers in the school for the morning and kids just kept turning up to school. I then decided to take just the girls out to the basketball court for a couple of games. After removing the burnt out wreakage from the front seat of a car off the court, i discovered a large amount of graffiti on the court. i then found out it was about a particular girl in the class, (graffiti is a big cause of fights and teasing in school and communities). The teasing started, the girl being teased didn't like it, I told her to cool down and have a rest, she had a rest, I encouraged her to play again, I had a rock thrown at me. I don't think it was at me, but people said, "Well, they must care about you enough if they want to throw a rock at you after a couple of hours." (Also refer to earlier story about Tammy Wolter at Uluru and trying to have her eye poked out by wire....she is really loved!!!) Its true. Again, think of little kids at kindy or preschool who bite or hit, but put that type of thinking in a teenager.
That night I walked down to the football "oval" to watch the Kintore Hawks train. I sat on the back of a flatbed truck tray...no truck..with about 6 kids climbing over me and begging me to watch them jump off the back of the tray into each other and on top of each other, WWE style. After about 45 minutes i was invited to train, but politely declined. Yes, I am soft, but I don't train on dirt or rocks in bare feet. These fellas are tough and the skills are amazing in bare feet and dirt. Something for me to do next time.
(The football "oval")
I have just realised this is long so I will put some photos up. But can I leave you with a quote from Carolyn. Her teaching advice to me and how she keeps going day after day of this is simple. She said, "Russell, I can't teach them much, but I can teach them Jesus."
The Church
(left: Kintore view- Women's mountain)
Please pray for David and Carolyn Cann because they really need it. They have been working with indigenous people for 30+ years and are getting toward the end of their careers. They are inspiring people.
people and while they are lively people, great senses of humour, love their footy, love to talk with you.....they do feel shame quite easily. They don't like people who show off, are greedy, or seek to be the centre of attention. I often think Kurtis is very similar. He loves the attention, loves to be watched, but put him on the spot in front of people and he goes to jelly. Put this in "teenagers" or adults and you might have a little insight why things can often seem to stall in aboriginal society. The kids love to "dob" or blame others for their shortcomings and so payback, by way of a fist or push or tease is a way of saving face; both males and females included.
(Left: The school "oval")
word when the funeral would take place.
Despite this, the weather was magnificent, the people and the kids were really friendly and I got many waves and hellos as I walked round the community. The Canns (teachers) had pumped up my visit quite a bit apparently and so the population of the school rose dramatically for a couple of hours (27) while I was there...It faded by about 2:00pm (12), but I felt good. At night there was not a cloud in the sky and visibility was about 30 metres roughly. Blackness all around and so I dared not venture out and was quite happy to drive the 500 metres to the Canns house for tea and back to the school to sleep at night. Flies were bad. (Side issue....My swallowed fly count is now up to 15. 8 swallowed in first term, 3 in one day. 4 while I was in Kintore. 2 during footy games I have played in).
That night I walked down to the football "oval" to watch the Kintore Hawks train. I sat on the back of a flatbed truck tray...no truck..with about 6 kids climbing over me and begging me to watch them jump off the back of the tray into each other and on top of each other, WWE style. After about 45 minutes i was invited to train, but politely declined. Yes, I am soft, but I don't train on dirt or rocks in bare feet. These fellas are tough and the skills are amazing in bare feet and dirt. Something for me to do next time.
