Supporting Marginalized Aboriginal Communities in Australia

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The report highlights the struggles of the aboriginal community in Australia, who are often mistreated and undervalued due to their low social status. The author shares two case studies where a company and government agencies took steps to empower these individuals by providing training and job opportunities. This led to increased confidence, reduced poverty and crime, and greater inclusion in mainstream society. The report concludes that with the right approach, the aboriginal community can be lifted out of their current state of disadvantage.

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RUNNING HEAD: ETHNIC GROUP 1
ETHNIC GROUP
STUDENT’S NAME
STUDENT’S COLLEGE

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ETHNIC GROUP 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………….4
ABOUT ORGANIZATION..………………………………………………………………….4
PROBLEMS FACED…………………... .……………………………………………………5
CASE STUDIES………………………………………………………………………………6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES….……..……………………………………………………………………..10
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ETHNIC GROUP 3
ABSTRACT:
This report makes an attempt to illustrate the present conditions and different aspects of a
marginalized section of population in Australia. This article makes an attempt to hold up the
values and ethics in oneself which leads us to support one marginalized ethnic community. The
community of concern in the present context has been kept as the aboriginals of Australia who
have been kept marginalized in various walks of life. Although these are the indigenous people
of Australia they have been kept out from the normal day to day amenities or privileges that they
deserve. These aspects of atrocities and how these minority groups are exploited by other groups
or majorities have been highlighted. The report also throws light on some case studies wherein
people have stood by these aboriginals in principle and tried to solve their issue. It takes a view
on how our strong support and values can change the life of minorities and create a meaningful
environment in the society so that they can sustain their life there. All these elements of the issue
concerning aboriginals have been discussed in detail and a perspective has been put forward
through this report. At the end it is justified to mention that this report has made a structured
attempt to critically analyze the issue with respect to minorities and their rights which can be
extended and applied for similar other academic analysis (Walker, 2013).
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INTRODUCTION:
There has been immense development throughout this world and globalization has made
knowledge sharing at the fingertips of every person, business or community. However in our
quest for growth and development we generally forget the people around us and the kind of life
they lead because of our actions, Similar is the case with minorities or certain communities who
are deprived of certain facilities and continue to suffer in their life. In order to put this thought in
perspective this report has dealt in detail with the various aspects of aboriginals in Australia. This
report wants to highlight the efforts of Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) who
have for long stood by the demands and rights of the aboriginals especially with respect to their
child healthcare and education. They have fought with several odds in order to establish the
rights of the aboriginal children who will be the future of Australia. All these aspects have
described in detail in the forthcoming sections of this article (Schwarz & Dussart, 2010).
ABOUT ORGANIZATION:
The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) is an organization based out of
Victoria and is one of the major institutes which have championed the cause of aboriginal child
development and training through their various initiatives and campaigns. They look into
promoting and protecting the rights of the aboriginal children and young people who are
deprived of basic amenities and education. They organize seminars and workshops on better
parenting, promote aboriginal culture and encourage overall development of the youth in the
aboriginal community. They have also been actively participating in the protection of children
from abuses and neglect in the minority community. They have premised their stand in support
of aboriginal children and their families so that they are entitled to facilities based on human

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ETHNIC GROUP 5
rights, self-determination and cultural identity. They strongly promote the ethnic culture which
has been eroding over the years because of globalization and other shallow influences. The
vision of VACCA is to create an environment wherein they are able to nurture children, young
people and families in a culturally strong, empowered and safe environment. They act as the
support system for the entire aboriginal community for quite some time now. They provide a
broad platform for the aboriginal children wherein they can showcase their talent and thrive so
that they are self-sufficient. It has also received several accreditations from relevant
organizations like QIC and is continuing to stand strongly with the aboriginals (Ryan, 2010)
.
PROBLEMS FACED:
Aboriginals are the indigenous people of Australia still they are not provided with
adequate amenities and facilities which has led to the widespread anger among the community.
Apart from that there is lack of education and other skill development initiatives in the
community which has led domestic violence and alcoholic problems in the community. The
primary sufferers of such bad habits are the children in the family who become victims of such
domestic violence. Moreover even if primary education facilities are provided to them they face
discrimination because of the ethnicity and cultural background which require serious attention.
Therefore in the wake of such problems VACCA has created awareness programs among the
parents and youth so that best practices of parenting can be adopted. They create campaigns
which spread awareness about the good effects of education and organize workshop which lead
to training and development of the youth. Australia is rich in minerals and there are several
manufacturing units in the country which create the demand for skilled workers. Therefore if the
aboriginal youth can be properly trained then they can drive the engine of growth for the country
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as well as their community. The community will be self-sufficient, determined and have a
meaningful life for its future generations, With this aim the organization VACCA is working
towards creating a better for aboriginals in Australia (Weinstein, 2003).
CASE STUDIES:
Aboriginal children are isolated from main stream everywhere. They are not given same
opportunity to progress, to take education or to live their normal life. Even though it is their own
life, they are treated like a burden on society. Some of them try to do well in life but every time
they try they are pushed back by social pressure or people. I encountered such situation when a
traveled a remote village during my rural internship. I was posted in a small village as a social
worker. I had to travel lot of schools for my work. There I met some aboriginal children. They
were students there even though they were not looking like that. At first sight, I thought they
must be beggars or children of workers in nearby area. After some days’ visit, I realized they
were actually students there. But, I never saw them with other children in classrooms. They were
either sitting in a separate group in some corner of class or playground. They were also helping
workers for cleaning and other works at school. Most of the time they were out of classes instead
of studying and learning lessons in the classroom. They were used to do lower category works.
Leftover food from others was the incentive of doing such kind of work (Moyle, 2007).
I realized that instead of teaching them and enhancing their skill sets, they were being pushed
backward. Students were not interacting with them for their lessons or games. Students were
considering like they were there only for cleaning of school. Aboriginal children were forced to
sit in last corner on separate benches from others. Even school staff was not taking any action to
include them in normal social stream. All have pre decided fact that, they can’t study or can’t
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succeed in their life. When I discussed this with staff, they said that these children did not want
to study, they only come here for food. But when I interacted with some children, they said no
one talk to us, we are not included in any school activities and this way we lost our interest in
studying.
School mistress was completely unaware of these facts. She gave admission to these students
because she can’t deny that. But, after that she never paid attention on them. I raised this issue
and did some one-to-one or group meetings with school staff. I told them about the necessity of
giving proper education to these children. Some of their doubts were cleared regarding their
being unhygienic, their weird behaviour and living style. We discussed its reasons and
repercussions the society. It was understood that leaving them isolated will waste society’s
resources and will ultimately affect overall society only. Their life, living style and reason for
that were also discussed with children. They were motivated to mingle with them by explaining
its reasons and advantages. Some ice breaking games were organized to boost children’s
confidence (MALCOLM, 2013).
Initially aboriginal children were hesitating to open up. They were not expecting friendly
behaviour from others. But after some days’ efforts they become normal and this also showed in
their performance in games as well as in studies. Parents of both children were also involved in
the process. One day event was organized where all parents were invited. This issue was
discussed with them and school staff motivated them to make an environment at home which is
supportive of aboriginal children. Periodic meetings, games or tours were conducted to spread
the idea among other nearby schools. Gradually, aboriginal children started performing better
and their confidence boosted by all this. School children got to know different cultural

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perspective and it increases their knowledge. They became open to new experiences and
challenges in life. They learnt about humans as a single kind.
This was the one scenario in a remote village of Australia. Another scenarios explains that, Even
if these children get primary education, they are lagging behind in skill based training. They are
not receiving employment trainings which can support them and their families. Opportunity for
job are very low for them. Australia being a mineral reach country can use these human
resources for extraction, mining and cleaning of minerals. These people will get ready to work
easily if provided proper training. But in most of the cases, they are secluded and are not given
working opportunities. This is because of misbehaving of managing staff or co-workers. Co-
workers consider them from low caste and mistreat with them. They are considered as slaves to
work for them. Manufacturing, mining or other work heavy companies can leverage this large
work force for their jobs. It will reduce labor cost for them.
I encountered such a problem few years back. I came to know about such scenario in nearby
company. I went there and discussed this with HR officer. I explained the potential of these
people and Advantage Company might get from that. That company planned a training program
specifically for aboriginal population. They trained them for about a month and then directly
hired them. It saved their recruitment cost and also saved them from bargaining with workers’
union. Some persons were qualified and talented and were hired at upper posts also. This set an
example in the society and other companies started following it. This also helped them to have
diversity at workplace (Ellis, 2008).
After some time, government came into picture and established a separate committee to develop
training and development plans for this population. This is working effectively now and has
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trained thousands of people in last few years. Skill based training gave job opportunities to
people and they came forward and streamlined with everyone else. This has helped to remove
poverty and crime from the society. These people gained confidence and are now opting for
higher education. Slowly they are becoming part of normal society. Some successful people are
working now for upliftment of their own communities. They are supporting others mentally and
financially also. Inclusion of these people in main society increased diversity and erased cultural
differences (Barber, Delfabbro, & Cooper, 2011).
CONCLUSION:
This report deals in details about the various aspects of aboriginal community and how
they face difficulty in their everyday life. The report sheds particular light to the dark aspects of
the facilities that are provided to this particular and illustrates two pertinent case study wherein
showing solidarity with the minority community have a created a conducive environment for the
needy in the society. It deals in detail about the organization VACCA which makes an earnest
attempt to better the lives of aboriginal children through various campaigns and other seminars
so that they can lead a healthy life and strive for a better future. At the end it is justified to
mention that this report has developed a methodical approach for the successful analysis of the
issues faced by a minority community which can be emulated for similar other academic
purpose.
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ETHNIC GROUP 10
Reference
Barber, J. G., Delfabbro, P. H., & Cooper, L. (2011). Aboriginal and non-aboriginal children in
out-of-home care. Children Australia, 25(03), 5–10. doi:10.1017/s1035077200009743
Ellis, C. (2008). Rom: An aboriginal ritual of diplomacy. Musicology Australia, 11(1), 106–107.
doi:10.1080/08145857.1988.10420641
MALCOLM, I. G. (2013). The ownership of aboriginal English in Australia. World
Englishes, 32(1), 42–53. doi:10.1111/weng.12003
Moyle, A. M. (2007). Aboriginal music on cape York. Musicology Australia, 3(1), 3–20.
doi:10.1080/08145857.1969.10414983
Ryan, L. (2010). Rewriting aboriginal history. History Australia, 7(3), 70.1–70.2.
doi:10.2104/ha100070
Schwarz, C., & Dussart, F. (2010). Christianity in aboriginal Australia revisited. The Australian
Journal of Anthropology, 21(1), 1–13. doi:10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00064.x
Walker, Y. (2013). Aboriginal concepts of the family. Children Australia, 18(01), 26–28.
doi:10.1017/s103507720000331x
Weinstein, S. (2003). Aboriginal reconciliation: An historical perspective. Children
Australia, 18(01), 31–36. doi:10.1017/s1035077200003333
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