Koora the Kangaroo: violence prevention at Woorabinda State School: evaluation report

Abstract

In late 2002, Ailsa Weazel, Co-ordinator of Gumbi Gunyah Women’s Shelter met with Heather Nancarrow who was working on a project concerned with justice strategies to deal with family violence. Ailsa expressed her grave concerns about increased violence in Woorabinda and a lack of respect for culture and elders among the community’s children. Ailsa saw this as a consequence of violence, including family violence, being an accepted ‘norm’ in the community and she identified a desperate need for intervention to bring peace and hope for the children’s future and that of their community. Ailsa had a vision of a program for young children incorporating traditional story-telling methods to communicate community values and respect for culture to respond to the need she had identified. In early 2003, Heather became the Director of the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research (CDFVR), Central Queensland University, and in this role, she offered Ailsa assistance to develop and evaluate the program she envisioned. This offer resulted in a collaborative project between Ailsa, Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research and the Woorabinda State School (WSS). Initial project planning and development was undertaken by Ailsa, Heather and CDFVR’s Education Officer, Michelle Bradford. The purpose of the project was to develop, trial and evaluate a violence prevention strategy that was based on Ailsa’s vision and culturally appropriate to students at Woorabinda State School. -- Introd