VIPs and little learners. See what we've been up to this term.
Three years ago we transformed our organisation. Where we had been focused on programming within the school grounds, we now also look outside the gates to remove the barriers to students getting into the classroom and thriving once they’re there.
This expanded focus has led to the development and implementation of a number of programs that provide holistic support, and strengthen health and wellbeing, which, in turn, contribute to increased attendance and improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
The support of some very special partners and supporters has enabled us to be bold. We’ve piloted innovative programs, stood up new services, and addressed prevailing (and often wicked) challenges in our four partner communities. We’ve strengthened our partnerships, invested in our staff, and facilitated place-based decision-making. And we’re making some impressive progress.
Our program profile looks different in each of our partner communities. As it should. Because we respond to what the local community wants and needs.
You’ll find a table below that describes our programs and, importantly, demonstrates where your valuable support goes. Because, at the end of the day, we couldn’t do it without the help of partners, donors and supporters like you.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
Shellee Strickland
Murrup CEO
Show and tell in Wurrumiyanga
We were honoured to show the Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy around our mobile laundry van while she was in Wurrumiyanga recently.
We run the mobile van in partnership with Orange Sky and with funding from the Australian Government through the Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program.
Over the past 12 months, we've provided 1906 hours of employment for local people, and facilitated more than 1322 loads of laundry.
Access to free hot washing and drying facilities supports skin health, provides an opportunity for community connection, and links people to other supports.
Pictured above: Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy (centre) with Murrup Program Coordinator Wyndell Puruntatameri (left) and Murrup CEO Shellee Strickland (right).
In remote First Nations communities, you can’t always just pop to your local barber for a short back and sides. In fact, for many communities, there aren’t qualified hairdressers for hundreds of kilometres.
So, when Murrup's pop-up hair salon returned to Wurrumiyanga earlier this month, 164 people jumped at the chance to have a treatment.
This type of community-based hairdressing is not just about the way people look; it helps with scalp health and lice eradication, improved self-esteem, and community and peer connection.
This successful program started last year and also worked to connect children and young people with the health clinic to have their annual health check and receive access to other services.
Free laundry delivers clean clothes, and loads of other benefits
Following the success of the laundry facility in Tiwi, Murrup has extended the service to Woorabinda.
Unlike Wurrumiyanga, where the facility is offered from a mobile van, Woorabinda’s washers and dryers are housed in a pod at Murrup’s premises at the Bill Thaiday Centre.
‘This means that community members can come to our centre to put on a load of washing, and access services and support while they’re there,’ Woorabinda Community Manager Khanita Sukaserm said.
In the first two months of operation, the laundry has completed 215 loads.
‘It’s been really popular among Woorabinda families and individuals,’ Khanita said.
‘Other service providers are also using the facilities to wash the curtains and linens of their client’s houses.
‘We’re really proud to be able to offer the service to community.’
Pictured below: Murrup’s Woorabinda team with Executive of Programs Kelsey Muhl (second from left) at the official launch of the laundry pod.
Everywhere learning in action. HIPPY participants embrace nature play as they prepare for school and a lifelong love of learning.
Thirty-five three- and four-year-olds have been taking part in Murrup’s HIPPY program on Palm Island this year.
The program is designed to help families get their children ready for school by providing them with resources and support. This year, we have provided families with more than 80 resource packs, which contain reading and work books.
In addition, fortnightly HIPPY gatherings provide an opportunity for everywhere learning. At a recent event children collected shells and rocks to decorate sandcastles, searched for crabs, and even collected oysters to eat. These activities supported numeracy, storytelling, imaginative play, and the development of gross and fine motor skills. And they provided an opportunity for the transfer of cultural knowledge and connection with community.
At-risk young people in Woorabinda are receiving an extra layer of support, thanks to an expansion of Murrup’s Four Corners program.
The Four Corners program embraces the power of sport to engage with young people through mentoring and pro-social activity. The program has now been expanded to include trauma-informed clinical support that is being delivered by a specialist First Nations practitioner.
Group sessions are being run in conjunction with both local schools, while one-on-one sessions are being offered to those who need it most.
A youth group for young men in Wurrumiyanga has been named ‘Tiwi Warriors’ by participants.
The group voted on a name, and designed a t-shirt (pictured below), which reflects modern Tiwi culture.
The program engages young men in cultural activities on Country, music and art sessions, fishing, sport and yarns. The program also connects them with positive role models.
Murrup Program Coordinator Wyndell Puruntatameri said the youth group provided a safe space for young men.
‘There has been less fighting in community, because young men from different groups are coming together,’ he said.
‘We are also supporting young men engaged in the justice system to think about their future and what it means to be a Tiwi man.’
Murrup has delivered 23 sessions to 86 young men in 2026.
The sister program of Tiwi Warriors – Yangali – which provides afterschool activities for girls and young women, has delivered 19 sessions to 66 participants.
The power of storytelling was on show in Woorabinda for Book Week as students transformed into superheroes, princesses, pirates and other beloved characters (including The Mandalorian).
Murrup was proud to support Woorabinda State School with their Book Week celebration, and honour the tradition of storytelling, which has been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture for thousands of years.
Award and recognition ceremonies were held in each of our four partner communities to acknowledge school attendance and participation. Students who had improved, and reached, attendance milestones received certificates, prizes and well-deserved praise.
A special congratulations to St Michaels students in Palm Island for a fantastic attendance result this term. More than 90 students attended more than 80% of the time.
We are so proud to work with our seven partner schools and thank them for their ongoing support.
While we celebrate students and their families for their commitment to attendance, we also acknowledge that some children and young people are unable to attend for reasons outside of their control. That’s why we’re determined to remove the barriers to education that exist outside of the school gates, as well as cheer students on inside them.
Our program profile looks different in each of our partner communities, as it should. We respond to what the local community wants and needs, work to maximise collaboration and minimise duplication, while offering community members choice of service.
Below is a snapshot of our programs. You can read more about our programs on our website.
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