Aunty Karen Lane has won a 2022 NSW Department of Education Nanga Mai award for her invaluable work advancing Aboriginal education. Aunty Karen, aka the ‘mother away from home’ shares her skills, attributes, and life experience to provide strong emotional and cultural support, so students achieve their goals.
Winners of the 2022 NSW Department of Education’s Nanga Mai Awards were announced last Wednesday November 30th at the Sydney Opera house.
Aunty Karen is a School Learning officer at Goodooga Central School and president of the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, was one of the recipients of the coveted awards.
Without Aunty Karen’s support female Aboriginal students from remote towns in NSW would not be able to complete their work placements and trainee-ships in regional centres, far away from their homes and communities.
Aunty Karen travels with the students (like Tylera Cochrane) to places like Dubbo and looks after them while they undertake their trainee-ships, acting as their ‘mother away from home.'
The mother away from home shops for groceries and work clothing, teaches responsibility and life skills to the young students, ensuring they complete their work journals each evening.
Nanga Mai awards celebrate Aboriginal education, recognising the outstanding achievements of Aboriginal students and staff in NSW public schools, as well as community members and stakeholders who have made significant contributions in their communities.
