Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health – RESPECT COURSE

“Walya is a deeply authentic and personal account of how the poverty cycle drives Indigenous inequity – health and wellbeing, social, educational. Through the lens of his own family, Damien explains how this cycle needs to be clearly understood and addressed. Over decades of practice in the Northern Territory I have witnessed many healthcare workers come and go, and it appeared to me that most focused on the biomedical model and all to often missed the point – if you’re too poor to eat, you won’t value tablets to lower your cholesterol or treat your sugars. Walya is an very impressive articulation of the roots of this problem, a must for anyone wishing to embark on meaningful Indigenous health practice.”

Dr Simon QuiltyPhysician, Consultant Specialist

“I highly recommend Walya productions Course 1 Cultural Awareness and Course 2 Community Equity. Course 1 paces the learner through the incredible ingenuity and core concepts of a rich, thriving and sophisticated Aboriginal culture, especially brought to life by sharing Damien's own family history experience. I've done other courses and stepped away from these with new knowledge and and significant awakenings. I would highly recommend these courses. The second course is particularly relevant for understanding health care concepts and how external factors perpetuating the poverty cycle and sociopolitical structures of racism has created a phenomenon which started 235 years ago and was not part of aboriginal culture or lived experience prior to British colonisation. The second course builds from course 1 but also stands alone. A Brilliantly thoughtful course!”

Leigh SimmondsSenior Manager patient advocacy, Pfizer Australia

“My name is Irene Sazdov and a very proud Nurrunga women from South Australia. I have worked in the Education and Employment sectors for over 15 years. I completed the Walya Productions Aboriginal Cultural and Community Awareness e-learning course to assess its suitability for non-Aboriginal staff. I found it to be the best online e-learning course. It has changed both my personal and work life in such a positive way that the underlying message I felt was so important it inspired me to offer to help promote this course. As an Aboriginal person I would have loved for this course to been available to me when I was at School. It conveyed in the most sensitive and concise way the unique challenges and circumstances faced by Aboriginal people in away that was inclusive of the non-Aboriginal Australian community. I strongly recommend and encourage everyone to undertake these courses.”

Irene Sazdov

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation for the immense value your courses have offered. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in them and I must say that I learned a lot. The concepts were well-articulated, thoughtful, and provided an enriching experience.”

Dr Natasha ArtharsFaculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology