TDC Update
Our Mission at TDC is to develop all commercial opportunities on behalf of the clan members throughout the Region to advance our key aims of providing local jobs for local people and, in the long term, ensuring every child has a chance of a full life.
Heartfelt Plea To Government
With the tragic events that have unfolded in the past week, Tobias Nganbe is reaching out to our Federal Sen-ate Candidates with a heartfelt plea to listen to Aboriginal people to help the young people learn the right ways.
The Senators were due to come to Wadeye this week but postponed their trip. In a paper written to government Tobias stated:
‘Many people visit at elections and make promises and then we don’t see them again and the promises made don’t happen. This is not new. This has been happening for as long as I can re-member.
I have witnessed my old people listen to the white man and gone along with the white man’s advice, and it is not working. Today it us that are in that same situation. Like our old people we have asked that we be supported to return to country, to get land tenure on our homelands and for support to build our homes and infrastructure on country, to raise our families and teach them our ways, family ways, country ways. But the government says it can’t service homelands and that living around the services is the way. But it is not working. We are herded like cattle to live in small houses, very close together, with many (up to 15+) people living in a house. This causes unhappiness and fighting. Our youth are fighting, and we have no control, all huddled up in one place. We the old men and women are frightened of our young people.
We are tired of people coming to visit and tell us they are listening, but they are not listening, and nothing changes.”
Tobias will be meeting with the Senators next week in Darwin.
Thank You Team TDC
Thank you to all our team who have been doing their best to keep things as normal as possible amongst all the chaos. Some services were shut down and others operated with skeleton staff. The women managed to participate in activities and keep their minds on more positive things.
The women gathered with TYIC to play bingo and take comfort in being in each others company.
Nutrition & Budget Cooking
Catholic Care, the Clinic and the Safe House collaborated to deliver a cooking, nutrition and food budgeting workshop, and the women learned to prepare and budget for wholesome meals for the whole family.
Art Pieces By Catherine Parmbuk
H&C Smashing out Houses
Nothing stops the Housing and Construction team, as they continue to smash out four houses on Airport Drive.
The houses are just about at lock up stage and we have seen some cabinets and fittings moving into the houses over the past week.
These guys have been amazing, and the rate of progress is awesome. These houses are being built for NT Government employees which unfortunately is not taking the pressure of the housing shortages for TDC.
TDC are working with NTG and landlords in the region to try and combat the housing shortage for TDC employee’s.
Welcome Daniel Nemarluk
This week we welcomed Daniel Nemarluk to the workshop team to work with Charlie as a Trades Assistant.
Trade Training Centre
TDC met with representatives of Our Lady of The Sacred Heart Thamarrurr School, VTEC and CDU recently to discuss options for getting the Wadeye Trade Training Centre up and running again.
The training Centre has a fully equipped mechanical workshop, woodwork and metal work training facilities and training room.
We also had the opportunity to have a tour of the school and the great work they are doing.
The team in the commercial kitchen pump out 400 meals a day and are doing cookery training.
We were also shown the digital literacy production facility and saw the amazing work being done in producing learning resources for the kids, and watched some of the artists and graphic designers turning their art into books and other resources.
Thank you to the staff at Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart Thamarrurr School for being so generous with your time showing us around.
