Social and Community Role

Family and Community Programs
An important feature of Aboriginal culture and heritage is family and community. The centre of all traditional Aboriginal culture stems from land, family, extended family and community customs. Metro believes it is vital this custom remains strong. Some of the programs Metro is involved in to make sure this happens include:

Annual Cultural Gathering
Metro hosts an ‘Annual Cultural Gathering’ for its members and their families every Christmas. The ‘Annual Cultural Gathering’ allows Aboriginal families to come together to celebrate our culture with a focus on children and family activities. The venue is chosen with the children in mind and the entertainment aims to educate the children about their heritage while having fun. The entertainment has included songs and storytelling by ‘Aunty Wendy’s Mob’ and the new and upcoming Aboriginal rap group ‘Local Knowledge’ with the highlight of the day being ‘Black Santa’.

Saturday Family Day Outings
For many inner-city Aboriginal families weekends are spent at home with little to do because of financial constraints and the difficulties in traveling for large families. During the spring and summer, Metro and other local Aboriginal organizations host Saturday Family Day outings for the Aboriginal community. The aim of the outings is to promote family and community togetherness, and healthy lifestyle choices. Getting families active and outdoors improves health, fitness and lowers stress. This service is particularly important given the increasing rate of diabetes and obesity in the Aboriginal community. Healthy foods and nutritional advice are provided as well as buses to transport the families to and from the Redfern area. The outings usually take place at National Parks and beaches.

Blackout Violence Campaign
Metro Land Council was one of the organisers of Blackout Violence, a campaign that used Rugby League to stamp out family violence in Aboriginal communities. The campaign received a 2004 Violence Against Women Prevention Award, presented by the then Premier, Bob Carr. According to the citation accompanying the award, the campaign made an “outstanding contribution to the prevention and reduction of violence against women in NSW.” Blackout Violence used the NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout to promote an anti violence message to players and spectators. Players from 85 teams wore purple armbands to demonstrate their opposition to family violence and sexual assault against women. All participating teams were also given kits containing information on how to prevent family violence and where to seek help.