Jenspen gratefully receives donations of suitable items that make up 'LOVE PACKS FOR NYIRRIPI.

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Nyirripi is a very remote Aboriginal community in Tanami desert region of the Northern Territory 

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Items I like to include in LOVE PACKS are a pocket bible, a card with a personal message, clothing item, cross necklace, toiletries, nutritious snack portions etc basically whatever can fit in a small post bag. If I hear of a new baby then a bag will go to the parents full of handy baby items. 

 

I like to send out beanies in time for winter, so if you love knitting or crocheting beanies and would like to donate towards this that would be wonderful! It gets very cold in the Tanami desert!

 

Donations towards postage are also most welcome. (The only way to send things is through Australia Post which delivers via a small plane - there are no courier services etc to Nyirripi)

 

Nyirripi is close to my heart because I had the privilege of living and working there for some years and have seen first hand the conditions there. I have since revisited twice and hope to keep visiting when I can and writing about my experiences while there that changed me for the better!

 

Its a long way to Nyirripi - its 5 hours west of Alice Springs by road and a lot of that is red dirt/sand. The facilities are very basic and the desert climate means hot hot summers and freezing winters. The population is approx 200 and the main language spoken is Warlpiri. I am amazed at the way I was so accepted by the people in Nyirripi and love my skin name Napurulla; which connects me as a family member.

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While working as a youth worker, I was shocked at the 'youth hall' that we had use of to hold activities. There is only one source of water, a tap in the outside yard, no toilets and certainly no airconditioning!  There are two smaller rooms within the hall that had basic airconditioning but the extreme heat meant they didn't usually provide much relief. It is basically a big tin shed with a concrete floor and a couple of industrial fans!

 

In spite of that we were grateful for the shade it provided or shelter from the high winds. We had a load of fun in that hall with the youth and held lots of disco nights, basketball comps, music sessions, birthday celebrations and arts and crafts.

 

The connection with Nyirripi continued when we left and moved to Cairns. While there I opened and ran a private house and some parents from Nyirrpi sent their children to live with us and attend an Indigenous high school in Cairns. The Nyirripi school only goes up to Year 6 so children are required to leave community and attend boarding schools. The success rate for youth staying in boarding school is very low, almost nil;  so it was considered that providing the private home may help. However the attempt proved to be too much for our youth. Even though they enjoyed their time with us in Cairns, the homesickness for their families and community was too much for them and it was decided to close the home and the youth returned home.

It was this experience that has led me to a firm belief that a high school needs to be established in Nyirripi if continuing education is to be successful.

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Click on this link to read one of my poems written during my time in Nyirrpi. (Actually it is supposed to be a song, but I am still waiting for someone to put it to music.)

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Below are some photos with my Nyirripi families, both in the community and in Cairns.

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If you would like to donate items towards LOVE PACKS FOR NYIRRIPI please email me at jenspen61@gmail.com.

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The bank account details for money donations:

BSB 062692 ACC 3427 0099 Name "Nyirripi Outreach"

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God bless and keep you Nyirripi!