In the lead up to NAIDOC Week Martu Patrol and Newman Women’s Shelter delivered its most successful engagement activity to date – the Be a Voice for Generations Youth Music Project.
Working with internationally acclaimed Indigenous music artist Dallas Woods and Grand Trine Creative, the program aimed to engage young people every day for a week through music, dance and songwriting workshops.
At the end of the week, the young people involved celebrated at the Square in Newman, where they proudly viewed their original song and music video which featured lyrics about their lives growing up in Newman.
This event saw a range of local organisations, including The Y Remote School Attendance Strategy and PAMS, collaborate to support Martu Patrol in delivering nightly workshops which saw kids engage with activities and have access to a hot meal.
Supported by the HOPE Community Services, the Shire of East Pilbara, Newman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and BHP, the program allowed young people to express themselves creatively, while connecting with positive role models in Dallas and his team.
Newman Women’s Shelter manager Jai Newhouse said the workshops provided an awesome opportunity for young people to try something different.
“It was an unbelievable week, we aimed to have 20 children participate and we had more than 40 to 50 engage on the first and last days,” she said.
“It was really awesome seeing the children coming out of their shells, seeing them come down every day after school with their bright faces and seeing all the organisations come together to help out, it was a really great outcome for the children especially.”
Young people, including participant Marcus Mogridge, reported that the workshops helped build their confidence.
“We wrote about what we love about Newman; going to Sandy Creek and having a swim playing footy. It’s important for kids to get involved to realise what we love about being here.”
This initiative was a great example of the positive impact that can be made through collaboration, creativity and working towards the same goal. You can check out the original music video here.
