Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Services (LTHCS) held an official opening of its kindergarten followed by a Welcome Baby to Country ceremony as part of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day on Monday.
“The realisation of the kindergarten at Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust (LTAT) is evidence to the resilience and dedication of our community,” CEO of Lake Tyers Health and Children Services, Mikila Sharkie, said.
Lake Tyers Early Learning Centre opened back in 1989 at the LTAT and operated under the name of Bung Yarnda Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Service (MACS). Children attended the service up until three years of age and then went on to kindergarten at Nowa Nowa.
“From 1970 to 1990, the health services available were minimal, consisting mainly of doctor visits and medical transport. It wasn’t until a significant restructure of the management of Lake Tyers in the late 1990s, led by the influential ‘Four Aunts’, that a more permanent health service provision was negotiated for the community,” Ms Sharkie said.
In 1998, the LTHCS was formed with its own board, independent of the LTAT board. The new board successfully advocated for increased health and childcare services and the construction of a purpose-built health service facility opened in 2006.
During the 1990s, the Child Care Centre, originally called Bung Yarnda MACS, was established and has provided childcare for almost 30 years.
When the Nowa Nowa Kindergarten closed in 2019, Lake Tyers Early Learning Centre saw the need to provide the children within the community an accessible kindergarten which prompted LTHCS to apply for funding from the Department of Education to establish a kindergarten at LTAT as part of our existing childcare facility and this opened in 2020.
“As we quickly outgrew the childcare centre and outdoor space, it became clear that we needed a new building for our kindergarten service,” Ms Sharkie said.
In January 2021, the kindergarten began operating in the Health Board Room, which was approved by the Department of Education.
“The Indigenous Land and Sea Council provided the funding necessary to build a new, permanent kindergarten facility which we are extremely thankful for,” Ms Sharkie said.
Both the Early Learning Centre and kindergarten programs provide service to children from Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust and surrounding areas and collect children from their homes in the morning and take them home at the end of the day.
“This milestone of officially opening the new kindergarten marks the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to providing quality education and care for the children of our community,” Ms Sharkie said.
“We also thank the National Indigenous Australians Agency, who played a crucial role in funding the outdoor landscaping and playground. The National Indigenous Australians Agency, SNAICC, the Department of Education, East Gippsland Shire Council, VAEAI, the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust Board, the Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Board, all the team at Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Services, and our entire community for their support and for making this dream a reality.”
