A mum, and proud Wiradjuri/Ngiyampaa woman, Bronwyn understood the challenges that faced her community and wanted to show her daughters to be proud of their culture and to make your own opportunities.
“I wanted to lead by example, show that you can still achieve things as a young mum. I wanted to use my own experiences to help make a difference for my people, and for other young mums.
Her journey to become an Aboriginal Health Worker began in 2015, when she relocated to Wilcannia after the passing of her grandmother.
“I spotted a traineeship in Wilcannia, and reached out to my community for support in applying and was so happy to be successful,” said Bronwyn.
Bronwyn loved her role so much she was determined to complete more studies to become a qualified Aboriginal Health Practitioner.
“It was not easy living away from my family for so long.
“I was still grieving the loss of my grandmother, who was like a mother to me, but I wanted to show my daughters that we can set our minds to anything and achieve our dreams,” said Bronwyn.
Bronwyn completed her eighteen-month traineeship between Wilcannia and Broken Hill and was drawn to a special program targeting better outcomes for Aboriginal children.
“I wanted to help our kids and mob stay healthy happy, and motivated.”
“I helped to deliver outreach services to Aboriginal families and their children and worked closely with other agencies to provide access to a broad range of services to improve health outcomes for our mob,” said Bronwyn.
Bronwyn was able to work with nurses and midwives in the provision of antenatal and postnatal care, early childhood health checks, access to immunisations, the screening of lead and provide general support to her community.
“It gave me a great opportunity to build up my skills and knowledge and showed me how my work was making a positive difference to the people living in remote communities,” said Bronwyn.
Bronwyn decided to return home to her family in Lake Cargelligo.
“I grew up in the Lake area, born and bred here and have family here, and I love being around community and family,” said Bronwyn.
“As much as I loved my job in Broken Hill, I felt I needed to go home, so I took 12 months leave, packed up the kids and followed my heart”.
“It was one of the toughest decisions I ever made, but I knew it was the right one.”
After returning home to Lake Cargelligo, and working in various roles for other private providers, Bronwyn was offered a role as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner for the Building Strong Foundations (BSF) Program with Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD).
“The BSF service provides culturally safe child and family health services and referrals for Aboriginal children from birth to school age and their families.
Bronwyn reflects on the skills and experiences she had working with the children and families in Wilcannia and Broken Hill.
“Being home in Lake Cargelligo means I can focus on the challenges faced in my community. I feel my skills and knowledge are really helping here, I can relate to the challenges we face and link people into the other help they may need.”
“I love being involved in my community, being able to help deliver health services in the town, but also outreach to other towns and to see the good outcomes and improvements we can make,” said Bronwyn.
“I am a mum living and working in my community, I can relate to lots of the worries my people have.”
“I hope to be a familiar face that my people can feel they can talk to and be of assistance for all sorts of things, and to help people feel heard. The racism we have experienced in the past, and still sometimes today, needs to be called out, and I feel passionate about continuing to be a voice for my mob.
“In remote areas, our people face a lot of obstacles on a day-to-day basis, even having access to technology and phones, fresh fruit and veggies, travel to medical appointments so I feel it is really important to be here and to help be a voice for the people in my community,’ said Bronwyn.
“I was really close to my Nan, and when she passed, I kept going for her and wanted to show my daughter to not give up.
“She taught me to embrace our culture and the opportunities that come your way and to chase the things you love and believe in.”
“The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations peoples, and we need to remember and be proud of that and be part of the journey to close the gap and achieve the best health outcomes for Aboriginal People.
“Always was, always will be.”
