The 2017 KARI Unity Day was held on Wednesday 12th April at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool. There was a fantastic turnout with over 800 people visiting throughout the course of the day.
Held each year in the April school holidays, the aim of the day was to provide members of the South West Sydney community with a low cost event that the whole family could enjoy.
The day provided the community with the opportunity to access vital resources and information from a number of community services and providers, while also taking the opportunity to kick back and relax with rides, food trucks, face painting and arts and crafts.
This free event linked community members to information and promoted connectedness to services in their local area.
Patrons enjoyed a variety of rides including dodgem cars, a giant slide, swings and jumping castles.
Showbags were a hit again this year and sold out within two hours of the gates opening.
Face painters were also hugely popular as kids and parents alike queued up to receive a unique design. For those less inclined to be transformed with glitter and paint, balloon animals proved to be just as popular.
Children and young people enjoyed the arts and crafts stations, experimenting with sand art to create their own boomerang designs.
Our resident reptile man wowed the crowd with turtles, crocodile and lizards while our roaming magician kept everyone guessing with his tricks and illusions.
Giving community members access to resources is a significant element of this event. Thank you to the 25 stallholders who attended on the day, offering advice, resources and support to those in need:
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- Macarthur Gateway Resource Services
- Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre
- NSW Fair Trading
- Settlement Services International
- Aboriginal Go 4 Fun
- Centrelink
- Medicare
- Karitane
- TAFE
- Western Sydney University & School of Medicine
- University of Technology, Sydney
- Anglicare Liverpool
- Ability Links Team Kinchella Boys Home Cooperation
- Cello Paper
- South Western Sydney Local Health District
- Uniting Jaanimili
- Aboriginal Chronic Care Program
- South Western Sydney PHN
- Gambling Help Service (South West Sydney Mental Health)
- Kamilaroi Kollection
- St Johns Ambulance
There were also stalls onsite selling some beautiful Aboriginal art, candles, soaps and other items.
A huge thank you to our partners at the West Tigers and NSWRL for coming out on the day to help run a ball game for the children and young people – they had a ball!
There was a great vibe throughout the day with many community members commenting on how much they were enjoying themselves. It was wonderful to receive such great feedback. We look forward to building on this event in 2018 as we continue to work towards building flourishing Aboriginal communities.
