The Australian Government has recently established an office for Social Inclusion with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard as the Minister with support from Parliamentary Secretary Ursula Stephens. Their vision is of a socially inclusive society in which all Australians feel valued and have the opportunity to participate fully in the life of our society. Rumbalara Football and Netball Club has had a focus on social inclusion for over a decade and it is pleasing to see it as a major focus of the Australian government.
At Rumba we define social inclusion as the creation of a culturally safe environment in which anyone from any culture feels safe and confident in expressing their culture, customs and values within the relevant laws. Thus our efforts in this area focus on providing for Aboriginal cultural identity, expression and celebration through the social connection of sport.
RFNC is a sporting hub for the region’s Indigenous community, and we welcome all people to the Club. On a day-to-day basis it is about the Aboriginal community hosting non-Aboriginal people in an environment that is culturally safe for Aboriginal people, where strong interpersonal relationships can be built on mutual trust and respect. Ultimately we believe social inclusion will be the platform for closing the gap.
We have many fantastic partners to share in this journey including the Council of Greater Shepparton, the Ethnic Council of Shepparton, the Essendon Football Club, the Murray Football League and the Congupna Football and Netball Club (CFNC).
Each year in partnership with the CFNC we run the Unity Cup to promote social inclusion in the City of Greater Shepparton. The theme of the event is Women and Social Inclusion, and promotes a powerful message that healthy living is all about strong healthy families. Social inclusion is a theme in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous clubs and communities have a common interest and the event makes a significant contribution to building the social fabric of the Goulburn Valley.
Sustainability and Caring for Country
The RFNC is a Green Club and we are actively taking sustainability steps to reduce our energy and water consumption and to minimize our waste production. Our actions here are guided by respect for our ancestors to carry on their legacy of caring for country. We have developed a Sustainability Strategy and a Water Management Plan and set ourselves targets of becoming energy and water neutral by 2014 and the goal of continuous reduction in our waste production. We have recently installed a 5kWh solar system and are retrofitting all of our social room lighting. In addition we have installed two water tanks and solar hot water for showers.
Our community of approximately five thousand Aboriginal people in the Goulburn Valley and approximately three thousand in Shepparton is the largest Aboriginal community in Victoria. It is in the top 10 by size of Aboriginal communities nationally (ABS Census, 2006).
Through our sport and community development focus we aim to strengthen the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of our people. In broad consultation with the local indigenous community, we have defined ‘wellbeing’ as encompassing a sense of control of one’s life; the ability to manage threats (such as boredom, drugs and alcohol); a sense of connectedness to community and place; a relationship with the mainstream or broader, non-indigenous community; and a sense of pride in the history of the indigenous culture. Below is our expression of that wellbeing model.
Importantly, the Club expresses our communities’ desire to come together and have fun and enhance our wellbeing in a very positive way that is well removed from any negative stereotyping or over programatisation. Thus alongside our four football and eight netball teams we run a range of initiatives across Aboriginal cultural identity, expression and celebration; leadership; health; education; employment ; and social inclusion (reconciliation) — each of these initiatives is designed and measured according to our well being model.
Our successes in these areas are widely recognized and in December 2009 we were honoured to be named by Vic Health as the winner in the Community Development category for their Victoria wide health promotion awards.
This work wouldn’t be possible without the positive affirmation by our community. The community votes with their feet — we have approximately 300 playing members and well over 100 social members. In addition approximately 300 family members and supporters come to each home game to cheer the players on. In any given week then we encourage and support over 600 Aboriginal community members to aim high and achieve their dreams. Included below are a range of charts measuring our success over time in relation to community engagement, education and employment.
The table below shows our major achievements in each of these areas.
Major achievements |
| On Wednesday the 16th of December 2009, the RFNC received the Community Development award from VicHealth as part of the annual health promotion awards. 2009 marks the 12th anniversary of a partnership between Rumbalara and VicHealth, with both organisations benefiting greatly. |
| Fantastic community engagement through professional, culturally safe sporting and social facilities at Mercury Drive, Shepparton that in 2009 were enjoyed by nearly 300 registered players, over 100 social members, approximately 400 spectators coming to each of our eight home games and police providing anecdotal evidence that there is an 80% reduction in youth engaged with the justice system during the football and netball season. |
| Outstanding educational support with 92 students enrolled in our Academy of Sports, Health and Education in 2009, with many graduating with Certificate 2, 3 or 4 qualifications, with many others re-enrolling, going on to employment or to other forms of education. |
| Significant contribution to promoting personal wellbeing with no incidents of youth suicide and broad engagement across all ages with our healthy lifestyle programs, including diet and nutrition, anti drug, alcohol and smoking promotions, and active living. |
| Substantial influence on community wellbeing with police reporting a 75% per cent reduction in Aboriginal youth engagement with the justice system during the football and netball season. |
| Leading social inclusion in the Goulburn Valley through negotiating a three year Cultural Awareness Strategy with the Murray Football League (bringing the racial and religious respect work of the AFL to the local level) and also establishing partnership agreements with the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Vixens Netball Team that will see them visit the Goulburn Valley providing excellent opportunities for all fans young and old throughout the GV to engage with their sporting heroes. |
Significant breakthroughs in local private sector employment achieved, with 17 people supported into sustainable jobs, six undertaking career pathway training through apprenticeships and traineeships and two returning to school. |
| Achieving significant breakthroughs in local private sector employment, where we have supported 48 people into earning roles and 23 into learning roles, including 7 into apprenticeships and traineeships and 5 back to school. |
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