Wai Palya (Pitjantjatjara) Hello, how are you?
This year the WillPOWER program will once again be delivered throughout remote schools in APY Lands and the Maralinga Lands of South Australia. The communities that the Power Community team, past players and female role models will visit include Ernabella, Amata, Fregon, Murputja, Pipalyatjara, Mimili, Indulkana, Kenmore Park, Oak Valley, Yalata, and Koonibba.
As a part of the school engagement, the team will head to communities and deliver workshops such as Nutrition and Physical Activity, Tackling Smoking, Harmful Substances, and Chronic Diseases.
The WillPOWER program uses football as the incentive and provides additional rewards to encourage young Aboriginal students to attend school. Once at school all students must complete their WillPOWER workbook before they participate in any sporting activity.
Below are the modules for the WillPOWER Program in 2019:
- Term 1 - Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Term 2 - Tackling Smokes
- Term 3 Ernabella Sports and Dance 2019 – Harmful Substances
- Term 4 WillPOWER Carnival –Chronic Disease
A week in the life of the WillPOWER team on the FAR WEST COAST
To begin 2019, the WillPOWER team which included staff; Wade Thompson, former North Melbourne and Port Adelaide Football Club players Lindsay Thomas and Byron Pickett heading from Adelaide to Ceduna. The team then headed west and started at Yalata Anangu School to deliver a face to face workshop on Nutrition and Physical Activity. The session was broken into class activities and then outside for football skills and games.
The following day Wade, Lindsay and Byron facilitated an Aboriginal Power Cup workshop with South Australian Aboriginal Sport Training Academy students at Ceduna Area School. The workshop consisted of an Aboriginal history in the AFL and the significant contribution of the past Indigenous players within the AFL.
The following day team went to visit the Ngura Yadurirn Child & Family Centre to run some fun football and sporting activities for the young children and spoke about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles.
Later that afternoon the team headed west to Koonibba Aboriginal School to complete the week of WillPOWER Program.
Some very good football skills were shown, especially from the girls! Thank you to everyone on our visit, your schools and communities were very welcoming to us.
For more information please contact Wade Thompson wthompson@pafc.com.au
