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Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to enter and succeed at Curtin University so they can return to their communities as strong leaders and role models.
Moorditj yorgas, moorditj boodja – strong women, strong country
‘Moorditj yorga’ means ‘strong woman’ in the Noongar language of Western Australia’s South West. Colloquially, it also means ‘deadly’. We’ve all been influenced by strong women in our lives – mothers, sisters, aunts, teachers, colleagues and friends.
Women are the bedrock of any community, particularly those that have long faced social and economic inequity. The Moorditj Yorga Scholarship Program will support mature-aged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women – who may feel the promise of higher education has passed them by – to enter university, pass their studies and receive mentoring as they transition into their careers.
Together, let’s make this opportunity available to as many moorditj women as possible.
Aunty Trish, welcome’s all scholarship recipients to the University, provides wrap-around pastoral care to ensure they are succeeding in their studies, and place’s them in bespoke mentoring programs before they graduate.
“As someone who has walked this path before, I know the cultural hurdles and family obligations holding our people back from achieving a tertiary education. With compassion and guidance, I help our students manage their studies, overcome cultural barriers and support each yorga on her own path to success.”
Trish Hill-Wall – Wadandi Elder and Moorditj Yorga Coordinator
Pictured is Janelle Brown, a current Moorditj Yorga Scholarship recipient, whose journey you can learn more about in the article below or by listening to her interview on CurtinFM.
“I am Bunyarinjarin, a Walbuja Woman from the Yuin Nation. I was displaced at age 13 due to my father’s violence and have been living on Noongar Boodja since I was 18 years old. Having never had the chance to attend high school, I honestly never believed that I would be able to pursue a degree at University. Receiving the Moorditj Yorga scholarship has increased my confidence and validated that I am on the right path.
As a sole parent having lost my partner, the father of my youngest children back in 2014, and with no family support on this side of the country, this scholarship allows me to breathe. It is difficult to put into words how much receiving this scholarship will change my life, and my children’s lives.
I commit to giving back with deep gratitude and humility with greater opportunities and capacity that this scholarship affords me.”
“The past 30 years of my life has been a journey of heartache, struggle, loss and grief, but also of self-discovery, recovery, triumph and healing. Having experienced homelessness, domestic violence and drug addiction, I have now been in recovery for seven years and have worked in Aboriginal mental health for the past five years.
“These years have given me the capacity to contribute to society more than I ever could have imagined. It is always challenging to juggle full-time work, study and caring for my granddaughter. But this scholarship has given me the means to afford this course and pay my mortgage. I am blessed that I was given a second chance at life, and my course will enable me to achieve the dreams I wish to pursue in the mental health field for Aboriginal people.”
*Name changed for personal reasons
Support moorditj women
We invite you to consider supporting moorditj women by making a donation to the scholarship program.
Valerie Ah Chee, Yorgas Barloonginy, 2021, acrylic on canvas.
This artwork was especially commissioned for the Moorditj Yorga Scholarship Program. It represents the transference and continuity of knowledge between generations of Aboriginal women since creation.
The circle in the middle is the first gathering of the Elder matriarchs (holders of knowledge and learning) teaching the next generation of women about identity, connections, belonging and culture, and sharing their wisdom on business, country, culture, language, resilience, strength, survival, rituals, ceremonies and stories. This transference of knowledge is fluid and alive – always moving backwards, forwards, sideways and circular to ensure continuation, and represents our survival and the strength of our culture and identity. It moves between the circle and the Elders to family groups, and between communities as represented by the small circles.
The snake is the Wagyl, creator and protector of the waterways in Noongar culture, which is essential for life. The area within the Wagyl represents what we learn from birth – who we are, where we belong, our culture and language. The women sitting around the snake are ready to start a different journey to learning. The outer circles and pathways represent the interconnected institutions and paths that complement what we have been taught from our Elders since birth. These paths take us to places where we meet new people and learn from different communities, but they always take us and our learning back to our belonging place, where we began. These paths go into the universe and connect us to the women who came before us and sacrificed so that we, when we are ready, can fly.
Yorgas Barloonginy (“Women Rising”) by Valerie Ah Chee
Valerie is a Bindjareb woman from the Noongar Nation of the South West of Western Australia, with family connections to the Palkyu people of the Pilbara. Valerie and her husband Brendon, a Nyikina and Yawaru man from the Kimberley, share six boys and three grandchildren with another on the way.
Valerie graduated from Curtin with a Bachelor of Science (Midwifery) in 2016 at 45 years of age and has since worked clinically at the Armadale Health Service, St John of God Public Hospital in Midland and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide.
As an Aboriginal woman and midwife, Valerie’s own experiences of birthing in the system generated her interest to improve outcomes in Aboriginal maternal and infant health. More specifically, embedding cultural safety in the pregnancy and birth space, and improving the health of Aboriginal women from a cultural perspective.
Valerie is currently the Senior Project Officer and Research Assistant at Ngangk Yira (Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity) at Murdoch University and is working on Baby Coming You Ready?, a comprehensive and culturally safe way to assess the social and emotional health and wellbeing of Aboriginal women in the perinatal period, with a focus on strength and resilience.
In addition to raising her family, Valerie is an artist who draws inspiration from her work as a midwife, sharing her own story as a woman, as well as those of others. She is most inspired by her mother and father and their enduring love and respect for one another. They raised Valerie and her siblings to be strong and proud Aboriginal people who can accomplish anything and taught her that nothing is more important than family.
Some of Valerie’s other pieces can be seen within the Armadale Hospital maternity ward, at the Fiona Stanley Hospital Birth Centre, and at the Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity at Murdoch University.
The Moorditj Yorga Scholarship promise
The Moorditj Yorga Scholarship Program will provide holistic support, helping women to enter and succeed at Curtin University. Recipients will receive:
An annual stipend of $10,000, for a maximum duration of five years.
An individualised, structured mentoring program in the final year of study.
Support from a dedicated Moorditj Yorga Coordinator, including pastoral care to make students feel welcome, safe and connected to their cultural home (the Centre for Aboriginal Studies), and to their academic home (their School).