Heal country! NAIDOC Week 2021

Today marks the beginning of NAIDOC Week in Australia. We’re invited to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia's national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.

Paramedic Majella Filewood at work Source: SBS

The word NAIDOC represents the "National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee" and its significance is celebrated not only in indigenous communities, but also by Australians of all walks of life, government organizations, local authorities and schools.

 

Over the next week, we will hear many NAIDOC stories to help us understand and engage in the idea of ​​“HEAL COUNTRY”.

 

For today'’s story we’re heading to Queensland, where the local paramedic training program is helping boost Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in ambulance services, particularly in remote communities.

 

The initiative is currently supporting close to 50 cadets in the state, including in the Torres Strait, where staff are trained to fly rescue helicopters to respond to patients on outlying islands