“OK, kids, block one side and blow three times,” says Gloria Taylor to the kids sitting in a circle in front of her.
“You’re not allowed to let anyone pick up your tissues 'cos they'll get germs,” adds one of the young girls.
We’re in a primary school classroom in Kempsey, NSW, where school kids are learning basic health skills – like how to blow your nose – from a Dhalayi Doctors trainer.
In the Dunghutti language (the local Indigenous language of Kempsey), 'Dhalayi' means 'young' and since 2013, Dhalayi Doctors has been running as part of a broader, Indigenous-led health program throughout Australia. This year, 400 kids will graduate with know-how about healthy eating, safe food prep, body hygiene and other essential life skills.
“They’re at an age when they’re like a sponge,” says Gloria’s colleague, Garth Fatnowna.
Andrew Kuchling, Kempsey South Public School’s principal, feels fortunate that his school is part of the program. “Seventy-five percent of our students are from Indigenous backgrounds and we know the health outcomes for Aboriginal communities are quite different than the wider community.”
“There was a head lice situation at one school, so we made up a bush medicine that went home with kids in little packs.”
For a long time, ‘glue ear’ was a common affliction among kids in Dunghutti. If the condition is left untreated, it can lead to hearing loss, which holds kids back from participating in class at school. So Dhalayi Doctors make sure kids know how to blow their nose.
Trainers teach students a combination of conventional and traditional health and healing techniques.
“There was a head lice situation at one school, so we made up a bush medicine that went home with kids in little packs.”
It’s not only medicine that kids take home with them. “A lot of the messages that kids learn in the program are taken beyond the gate,” says Andrew.
In that way, the young graduates of the program become ambassadors for their communities.
