A group of primary school-aged “doctors” are set to graduate in Melbourne’s north and become life-long health ambassadors for themselves and their communities.
The 30-odd students in grades three and four at Reservoir East Primary School are graduating from the 15-week Malpa Young Doctors for Life program on December 15.
The program is culturally derived and teaches both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children traditional ways of healing, along with modern ways of keeping communities healthy.
Malpa has also been running at Thornbury and Preston North in Melbourne’s northeast since 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Interstate, nine South Australian schools signed up in 2022, and three schools are also part of the program in NSW in Dubbo South, and in Smithtown and Kempsey West in the Mid North Coast region.
The program “equips them with Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge which they end up sharing with others – I believe they are closing the gap for themselves,” Malpa leader Mel Harrison said.
“At Reservoir, one of the main benefits is that it has dramatically improved school attendance.
“The way the program is designed means that every child feels some form of success in Malpa.”
The program echoes the idea of young people being doctors – a tradition held by Aboriginal communities for tens of thousands of years.
It starts off with big-picture concepts, like how students can look after their bodies and minds and care for their community and country. Then it goes into specific topics including wellbeing, health literacy, leadership, hygiene and environmental health.
The students visit places and people that enrich their experiences and inspire them, including Aboriginal medical services, food markets and paramedics.
Reservoir East Primary School principal James Cumming said the program has a holistic approach to health.
“There are lots of schools that teach health but not many from an Indigenous perspective,” he said.
Malpa was established in 2009 and has so far delivered 3500 health sessions to students across Australia.
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