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A new Community Learning Centre will be opened in Nyirrpi this week, paid for by Aboriginal people using royalty monies from mining.
The Kurra Aboriginal Corporation, as the trustee for the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust (WETT), has contributed $290,000 to run the Learning Centre as a 12-month pilot program in partnership with Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE).
The CLC administers WETT on behalf of Kurra.
CLC Director David Ross says the Nyirrpi Learning Centre will provide education and training courses, computers to access the internet, books in English and Warlpiri and a place to teach, collect and store Warlpiri cultural information. It will also help people who have completed training find local jobs.
“The Nyirrpi Learning Centre will provide all community members with a range of learning options,” Mr Ross said.
“Adult education is extremely important and resources to support these sorts of programs are thin on the ground. Adult education can get overlooked in the emphasis on early years education but it is an essential part of the overall education picture.
“Most importantly parents and grandparents who have experienced some adult education are often more attuned to the need for their own children’s education. They are more motivated to get their children to stay at school and more motivated to continue that learning process at home,” he said.
Already WETT have quite a few projects running in these communities – such as the Early Childhood Care and Development program in partnership with World Vision Australia in the four Warlpiri communities.
The Youth and Media program also operates across the region providing youth diversionary programs and media training in partnership with Mt Theo. WETT also support secondary students with incentives to attend school and provides funding for country visits and elder participation in Warlpiri community schools.
“I congratulate the Warlpiri on these wise investment decisions which provide long term benefits for everybody,” Mr Ross said.
The Central Land Council works closely with traditional owners and communities to use royalty, rent and affected areas payments from land use agreements on strong community development projects.
