Changing Lifestyles and Living Longer on Country

Behind Marilyn and Peter Wallace's drive to try applying business principles to changing people's lives -  is a belief that it is healthy for Nyungalwarra to live with their ancestors in their own lands, and a faith that assisting bring Nyungalwarra back onto country will help Nyungalwarra heal as a people.

Knowing the above, it should not be of any surprise to hear that, while there was no profit in it at the time, the emergent cultural enterprise (ie Bana Yarralji) just leapt at the opportunity, earlier this year, to host a Department of Health and Aging 'Healthy Community Day' on Country (just up the road from the Bana Yarralji base, at a place with healing waters known in Kuku Nyungkal as Bangalnarran)

Arising out of this hosting venture was a Bana Yarralji Healthy Families Day in which large number of extended family of all ages camped on country, ate healthy food (including a kup-muri), engaged in healthy activity, painted the above 'Live Longer' banner, and generally explored the prospect and potential for a healthier lifestyle living and working on country.

The event was also recorded on digital video, and a brief 3 minute clip posted onto you-tube, including brief interview with Marilyn, plus images of Nyungalwarra on country here:

The Department's webpage describing this Bana Yarralji Healthy Community day confirms and explains this key motivation driving these cultural entrepreneurs as follows:

"Marilyn Wallace, of Cape York's Kuku Nyungkal people, has long held a dream for the return of her people to a healthy life-style on their ancestral lands. That dream came one-step closer in mid-May at the Bana Yarralji Healthy Families' Day at Shiptons Flat"

The whole Bana Yarralji Healthy Family Day was generally regarded as a successful event by one and all.  It was an event sufficient to inspire Bana Yarralji to strive to build more business like partnership with the likes of Apunipima Cape York Health Council to possibly repeat, extend, and more regularly host healthy, lifestyle changing events such as the Healthy Family day on Country.

Today Bana Yarralji may have started moving little bit closer to formalising the kind of relationships and partnerships with Apunipima and other possible partners needed to help realize this key aspect of the Bana Yarralji vision, and we'll see how things go at a proposed meeting in Cairns next week!!