Milpa in Mparntwe in May

Milpa returned to Traeger Park in Mparntwe on Sunday 31 May for the Melbourne Football Club AFL game against Greater Western Sydney.

Ahead of the AFL fixture, Minum Barreng joined Melbourne Football Club representatives and community members at Rungutjirpa (Simpsons Gap) for a Welcome to Country gathering. The group was welcomed to Country by respected Arrernte Elders and Traditional Owners Doreen and Audrey McCormack.

Unfortunately, the Demons were unable to secure the win, but Milpa was delighted to meet with the crowd and join in the celebrations recognising the recent elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Australia.

At half time, Emma Stanford, co-deputy Unit Head at Minum Barreng was interviewed about this milestone and paid tribute to the community leadership and efforts delivering this achievement, the long-standing partnerships and shared commitment between community and government and other partners and the importance of maintaining Clean Faces, Strong Eyes and following Milpa’s Six Steps to Stop Germs.

Milpa was delighted to see friends from Nyirripi including the Demons Indigenous round guernsey designer Vanetta Nampijinpa Hudson. New television and radio Community Service Announcements (CSAs), filmed in Nyirripi in February were shared in the lead up and throughout the game and are being broadcast on Imparja TV, ICTV and CAAMA radio. The new CSAs feature Kozzy Pickett and Ricky Mentha and reinforce the Clean Faces, Strong Eyes message and encourage families to follow Milpa’s Six Steps to Stop Germs to keep trachoma and other infections away. We were also pleased to connect with representatives from the Jim Stynes Foundation, Reach, Rotary, and Worawa Aboriginal College.

Minum Barreng is proud to partner with the Melbourne Football Club and work alongside communities across Central Australia to support trachoma health promotion activities. We thank communities for their ongoing engagement and acknowledge the strong relationships built over many years, including the leadership and commitment of Health Promotion and Community Engagement Officer Lesley Martin, whose work has helped strengthen connections and support positive health outcomes across the region.