In the tiny town of Cue, 470 km east of Geraldton, the school runs a program called Happy and Strong. It teaches students the life skills they need to make safe and confident choices, including healthy living. With a small population, few dedicated facilities for kids and ongoing challenges attracting staff to this remote location, keeping that message alive can be difficult.
This is one reason school principal Susan Trigwell appreciates the energy, sensitivity and fresh approach that Fair Game brings when visiting Cue and other remote communities to run fun health, education and fitness programs.
“Fair Game don’t come in assuming they know everything,” she said. “They prepare thoroughly before each visit and their training is very culturally inclusive. They listen carefully, take guidance from Aboriginal officers and they’re totally natural in interacting with the kids, who really respond to them.”
Fair Game arrives with donated sports equipment and delivers up to six different healthy living themes, based on community priorities. These include Healthy Bellies, Healthy Smiles, Healthy Lungs, Healthy Hands, Healthy Feet and Healthy Ears. The content is presented in digestible bites that are fun, easy to remember and can be adapted to different age groups.
Katharine Mulligan, Fair Game Recreation Coordinator, spends one week every month travelling through the Mid-West, Gascoyne or Kimberley with a team of volunteers and staff.
One of the most popular activities in Cue is a cook-up. Children help prepare healthy, affordable meals that cover all the food groups.
“It’s a great icebreaker where we’ll start at the youth centre prepping the ingredients for a super healthy spaghetti bolognaise or patties with zucchini, carrot, onion, mince and breadcrumbs,” Katharine said.
“The kids really get into it. Then we’ll head outside for the Healthy Bellies nutrition games.”
These games use a large scale Healthway food group canvas laid on the ground, with food cards for individual veggies, proteins and fruits, placed at a distance. Children race to collect the food card called out by a team member and place it in the correct food group. The activity is energetic and highly competitive.
Healthway funding has expanded the program into the Gascoyne and Goldfields and supported a mindful movement program that helps children self-regulate. It can help calm and centre behaviour during high-energy moments or lift energy when children are tired or disengaged.
Another Healthway-supported initiative is the Wellness Walkabout, the first Indigenous language-based yoga program. It includes a Wadjuri poster board and an A3 book with stories linked to each pose. For Katharine, the most rewarding part of the work is seeing lasting change.