From the 15th to the 20th July, KARI’s Cultural Unit held its first ever reward camp for a group of youth in their Young Leaders program. A group of 12 young leaders were selected, due to their exceptional behavioural skills and hard work throughout the program. The young leaders were treated with a trip to Darwin, where they dove into a variety of different cultural experiences.
The motivation behind this camp was to provide these young leaders with a culturally engaging experience, as well as testing their leadership skills that they’ve learnt over the past 12 months. As a part of the experience, the young leaders were involved in dinner preparations, cleaning and grocery shopping. Over the course of their program, these youth were taught valuable life skills that enables them to become independent adults.
KARI’s Cultural Unit Coordinator Troy Dargan, was able to provide some historical knowledge surrounding the Boab tree, which is found only in the Kimberley and Western Victoria Region of the Northern Territory. Whilst in Darwin, the group were able to learn about the local people of the land and their traditional ways of life.
On the 5-day trip, our young leaders participated in many cultural activities, including a weaving workshop, a didgeridoo workshop, spear throwing, and were treated to a traditional welcome upon arrival. They attended a cultural tour, that took them around the wetlands surrounding Darwin, where they learnt about many of the native trees and plants in the area.
This was the first Reward Camp for the Cultural Unit’s young leaders’ program, and we hope to continue being able to provide this trip for future young leaders.