Alice Springs playgroup reaches out to town camps

Lutheran Community Care (LCC) SA/NT recently began supporting the Kwatja Etatha Playgroup at the Alice Springs Lutheran Church.

‘This program is a wonderful example of cooperative partnerships within the church’, says LCC Director Helen Lockwood. ‘The Alice Springs congregation, Finke River Mission, Living Waters Lutheran Primary School and LCC have all worked together to make this playgroup a viable and vibrant program for Aboriginal families in Alice Springs.’

The playgroup runs five days a week and has three staff who offer general playgroup activities, provide a nutritional program and support families by providing information about preschools, health services, parenting skills and other services. Staff also provide a minibus to transport mothers and children.

Sharon Watkins, playgroup coordinator and parent educator, says, ‘Most of the children come from town camps in Alice Springs, but we also have people visiting from remote communities and from the wider communities in Alice Springs.

‘Mothers and children love the church environment and feel safe coming to their new playgroup. The children especially enjoy learning the daily routine. They love saying the prayer before lunchtime and clap their hands with joy. They don’t have that routine in the town camps.’

Playground staff also provide breakfast before the children go off to the activities. Sharon says, ‘It was great the other day when for the first time one of the mothers watched us make chocolate crackles. After tasting them she went home and made them for her family and was so excited to tell us about it the next day. We plan to run cooking classes in the future.’

The playgroup gives mothers the chance to mingle with other mothers, catch up with mothers from other camps they haven’t seen for a while and have a cuppa and a chat.

‘We ask for the prayers of the people of the LCA as we continue this important ministry.’