“What’s ya name? Where d’ya come from? Whose ya family?” – these questions were repeated by many voices – squeaky, soft, gruff – in the early days, accompanied by deeply curious looks. As for our end of the deal, at first everyone’s names and families were a bit of a blur. But as the days went on the personalities of the kids, with their individual quirks and traits, came into sharper definition. Some kids are masterful at soccer, honing their skills during countless barefoot games. (We have all had the unfortunate experience of being goalie at least once. And the kids do not go easy on you despite the fact you are a “white fella”). Other kids can draw with finesse- much better than we can. And some kids tell a very good yarn!

During our morning and afternoon programs, a snowball effect kicks in. First, a few kids yell at us from the gate, beckoning us from our house. More kids join during the walk to school, (the hub of the program in Nganmarriyanga!). Then the noise and activity (not to mention the bright orange Linkz shirts), draw in a bigger crowd. There is even the occasional “pet” brought along for the ride, (witness: Paul’s pet piglet).

Not all our time here has been easy: there have been a few instances, one involving a parachute, another water bombs, and the third an exciting movie with a giant, baseball-stealing dog, where we have faced challenges. But the things you learn from such experiences, particularly patience, flexibility and having the ability to laugh when things go pear shaped, are invaluable..

It is not only the people but also the environment of Nganmarriyanga that has stolen our hearts. Numerous walks, made both with and without the kids, to the flood plains, through billabongs, and along the orange, dusty roads, have provided countless photo opportunities, particularly at sunset and sunrise. And the wildlife we have seen- brumbies, birds, pelicans and geese, frogs, a crocodile, four very frightening buffalo and a few spiders in the shower- has been spectacular. The stereotypical things you want to see when you head into the bush, but never really think you will.

This trip has been fun, funny, tiring, challenging, fulfilling and eye opening. The beautiful kids of Nganyamurriya have given us a snapshot of remote Indigenous life, exposing both its amazing aspects and its difficulties. It is the kind of stuff you can’t learn from a book, no matter how many you read.

The kids are full of energy, and we have been amazed by some of the talent we’ve seen – little 5 year old kids who can speak a hand full of languages, 8 year olds whose dance moves at disco are better than what you see in music videos, 10 year olds who can do flips and turns off a little trampoline and land confidently on their feet …the list goes on and on! One of the best activities we have run so far has been a day trip to the beach. Umbakumba is located on an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the beach was beautiful. The water literally sparkled. We spent most of the day on a platform of rocks that were exposed during low tide, cracking open oysters in the way that the kids taught usand eating them fresh. Us Linkz mob went crazy with excitement when a pod of dolphins swam past, diving in and out of the water. The Umbakumba kids weren’t so excited – this is their country, and a pod of dolphins was a common appearance, but they seemed entertained by our excitement. It was an incredible day.

The entire community in Umbakumba has been kind and welcoming, and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know the kids who have been coming along to the program. The only time the kids have given us any trouble is at the end of the day, when the time comes to close up the Sports and Rec Hall and head home. The kids follow us, wanting to continue playing. They run around our house tapping on windows, yelling at us to come and play. It reveals to us just how valuable the presence of Linkz has been in the community. It’s school holidays and there isn’t much to do in Umbakumba. There is no cinema, no shopping malls, no parks. Even the tiny library is closed. For a lot of the kids, the Sports and Rec hall is the most exciting place to be. The kids are glad we’re in Umbakumba and we’re happy to be in Umbakumba – it’s a perfect fit!

“We backstreet mob!” shout the kids, piled into the back of the troopy, who then make gangster poses and laugh at each other. We are dodging donkeys and wallabies on the road back to the remote community of Kalkarindji (where the two other streets are called Middle street and Front street). It’s Sunday night and the much-awaited Disco at the Rec Hall in Daguragu (the other Gurindji community, 8km from Kalkarindji) was a success: deafening tunes, balloons to be popped and dancing-Gurindji-style were the highlights. It’s a change from the previous six nights, which have been basketball, basketball and basketball! Every night about 7pm, we bring loads of kids (aged between one and 25) from Kalkarindji to play basketball at the Rec Hall (with the option of a Disney movie and craft activities in the neighbouring room). Surprisingly space doesn’t seem to be an issue, even though we usually have around 50 kids sharing one court. Given the love of basketball in these two communities, we are no longer surprised to see the five-year-olds scoring from the three-point line!

Daytime activities include basketball (surprise surprise), swimming/fishing at Wattie Creek, craft activities and organised races/games (such as pin the tail on the donkey – a favourite). We discover quickly that when 11-year-old boys say they want to do some painting, it does not mean on the sheets of paper we supply them…turn your back for a minute and they have paint all over their hands, face, hair and concrete – we swiftly swap to using face paint crayons (which, by the way, you can never have enough of!!)

Everyday the kids, bright and bubbling with energy, greet us with a smile and the latest gossip. We have been informed (continually, and by everyone) that we should stay until Freedom Day (23^rd of August), which commemorates the day in 1966 when Vincent Lingari led his fellow Aboriginal stockworkers from Wave Hill Cattle Station on an eight year long walk-off. The stockmen set up camp at Wattie Creek (which is now the Daguragu community) and it became the first successful land claim by Indigenous people in Australia’s history, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam returned the land in 1972 to hand it back. This historic event has had many songs written about it – not just the famous Paul Kelly/Kev Carmody song “From Little Things Big Things Grow”, but also the local Daguaragu band, called the Lazy Legz Boys (we think). They are especially popular on the mini-bus to basketball, and we think we will be spending the next three weeks learning all the lyrics…after all, there are plenty more basketball trips to be made!!!

The Kalk team - Steve, Phoebe and Chloe

When we signed up as volunteers to help run holiday programs in Indigenous communities in the Top End, little did we know how much we would learn. And how incredibly fun it was going to be.

The Linkz Odyssey Program is a multifaceted initiative which aims to deliver sport, recreation and youth services to remote Indigenous communities through the implementation of a student volunteer program. These services are aimed at minimising the impact of “at risk” behaviours and social issues for young people and their communities, focusing on prevention, diversion, education and development.

Harnessing the skills of these volunteers enables the program to provide critical services to remote communities whilst simultaneously providing opportunities for the personal and professional development of Australian youth more broadly. Furthermore the program utilises an innovative and cost effective model that can be easily implemented across a range of different locations.

The Linkz team is currently working on the next round of volunteer opportunities with further details coming soon. In the mean time if you would like to register to be emailed further information as it becomes available please join our mailing list.

Hey. Everything has been doing really well here in Wadeye. We have been running program activities with the kids each day and having heaps of fun. And we have had the opportunity to head out twice to Palumpa – another community about 30 mins away – which has been great. We have had christmas parties over the weekend just passed in Paulumpa and Wadeye and that was great fun for everyone!!! We had barbeques and presents and all of the kids and families who came along were really well behaved and had a great time. Nearly christmas now so looking to wind down a bit and get into the festive spirit – christmas card making with the kids has been a big hit!!!