Amata Wellbeing Center

Background to the Amata community

Amata is an indigenous community in the South Australia region. The community lives in the extreme remote Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. It is one of the larger aboriginal communities; Amata is relatively isolated and is about 40 kilometres from the Northern Territory border. Amata was under the establishment of “Musgrave Park” by the South Australian State Government in 1961 (Habibis et a., 2019). It was established to help take the pressure due to the increasing population of the Pukatja. The aim was to help in teaching how to work in the cattle industry to the aboriginal people. The population of Amata was estimated to be around 373 people in 2006. As of 2016, the population was about 455, according to the Australian census 2016 (Howard-Wagner, 2021). It is projected that the Amata indigenous population is expected to increase by an estimation of 35% by 2026. The Aboriginal residents of Amata are known as the Anangu, which means ‘people,’ Pitjantjatjara is the main language of the Amata community (Bay, 2020). The community still holds strong traditional ties and has its unique cultural identity through arts, education, ceremonies and language (Tualaulelei & Taylor-Leech, 2021). Maintaining language is an important community strength in the Amata community, and literacy in Pitjantjatjara is taught by an Anangu teacher at Amata Anangu school (Howard-Wagner, 2021). The Tjala Arts centre at Amata is Anangu-owned, and the centre has witnessed significant business growth since 2002, which gives this community pride. An important community project established for the community is the Amata Wellbeing Centre.

What Amata Wellbeing Centre Community Project Sought to Address

The Federal and South Australian Governments announced in 2011 that they would establish Family well-being centres in the Anangu communities in the APY land (Bay, 2020). The government contributed about $ 5 million to establish family well-being centres (Intract, 2013). The Amata community has been facing several health challenges that have impacted the community negatively; some of the health challenges have been the following:

1. Unhealthy eating habits and a high rate of tobacco use have been examined as causes of health challenges in the community.
2. Mental health issues have been reported due to the use of marijuana by many of the population.
3. There is available data that many people from the Amata community were hospitalized due to diseases associated with poor environmental issues, such as intestinal infections.
4. Available data also illustrated that many people at Amata were hospitalized because of digestive and respiratory illnesses.
5. Young children in the Amata community were also reported to be faced with malnutrition which set them up for long life challenges in their health and education.

Amata well-being centre was therefore initiated to help offer critical care support services to the local community (Intract, 2013). The well-being centres seek to address several health challenges and offer the following benefits to the local community:

Mental health therapy: Amata well-being centre helps offer mental health services through counselling by psychologists and wellness coaches. Mental therapy forms a high part of the wellness centre, and wellness coaches help their clients with advice on an exercise plan, eating habits and how to balance life challenges (Habibis et a., 2019). As noted earlier, there have been increasing mental health challenges in the Amata community because many people use drugs such as marijuana. Clinical psychologists at the wellness centre help assess patients with mental challenges and recommend treatments for them. Some common therapy forms for mental health patients include cognitive behavioural therapy, group therapy and art therapy. Also, mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety among people in the Amata community, can be treated through specialized mental care plans by trained staff at the wellness centre.

Physical health therapy: This is another important aim of the wellness centre; Amata people suffering from certain physical conditions will be able to access help and rehabilitate their bodies. Some common conditions that require physical therapy include chronic pain; physical therapists at the Amata Wellbeing centre can use different techniques to help treat physical pains.

Nutritional lessons: As noted early, there has been available evidence that children from the Amata community faced malnutrition which impacted their education and resulted in life-long health challenges. The well-being centre will immensely benefit from offering nutritional lessons to the Amata people. Also, patients suffering from some health conditions, such as diabetes and being overweight, will be able to receive guidance on the right diet to use.

Yoga and fitness sessions: The fitness session will be another important benefit the well-being centre will offer the Amata people. Fitness sessions will enable people from this region to have exercises for their bodies that incorporate their bodies and their busy minds to achieve a better balance (Langford et al., 2021). There are different fitness programs that the well-being centre will offer to the community to enable people to have healthy habits and ensure they stay physically fit.

Project outline

Amata well-being centre cost $937,000 and was developed to help the local community access vital support services. Interact with the partnership of McMahon Services was awarded the contract to help in the refurbishment work of the Amata well-being centre. In the project development exercise, the team that worked on the project utilized the existing buildings in the areas as sleeping quarters. The refurbishment works at the well-being centre involved replacements of sanitary taps, all doors, door hardware, and ceiling and wall linings (Intract, 2013). In initiating the project, the government aimed to change the centre into a homely environment away from being a substance misuse centre. New reception areas were modified and constructed, and new kitchenettes were also developed. New concrete paths were also constructed, and the existing perimeter fences were refurbished (Intract, 2013). Wiltja Shelters were also removed and given back to the local community.

Workforce engagement

25% total of the workforce was from the local indigenous community.

20% total workforce was from the Anangu.

The project took 3,183 hours to complete.

$937,000 was the total project cost.

Principles that make Amata Wellbeing a community development project

There are various ways to approach community development projects; for instance; they may be based on transparency, participation accountability, barrier removal and enhanced capacity (Arnull & Kanjilal, 2022). The following are important principles that make Amata Wellbeing Center a community development project:

Primary beneficiaries are from the community: A community development project has its beneficiaries directly and indirectly (Smith, 2018). Directly beneficiaries are individuals who will benefit directly through participating in the project through their involvement in supplying raw materials and other goods and services (Habibis et a., 2019). Indirect beneficiaries are people who live in the zone of the project. Through an arrangement with the Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Intract and McMahon services established training initiatives with Carey Training to enable the local indigenous workforce to complete certificate training in construction (Intract, 2013). The project contracts provided accommodation and mentorship facilities to the local indigenous workers.

Locally led implementation and management of work: Local capacity development is another important principle for a community development project. It involves an investment in local actors, organizations, networks and individuals. Interact and McMahon services worked with Carey Training to offer training to the local Amata workers during the project’s development (Intract, 2013). During the development of Amata Wellbeing Center, the contractors did not only hire local workers but also built the local capacity, thus making it a community development project. People strongly connect to their homes and usually have a strong sense of ownership (Short, 2020). Involving the local people during the project development makes them feel valued and part of the project.

The transfer and control of resources were for the local community: Transfer of control means ownership changes of a certain resource. A community development project has to build on systems that allow for the transfer of assets and resources to the local community (Arnull & Kanjilal, 2022). During the development of the Amata well-being centre, some of the resources were given back to the local community. The contractors removed the wiltja Shelters and gave back to the local community; this act demonstrated that the resources belonged to the local community and were the rightful owners of the project.

Locally led evaluation, assessment and accountability: Community development projects involve many people working together. Community-based research models must be utilized and support the local community (Habibis et a., 2019). The community development project helps encourage the local community, and thus it necessitates the need to work within the customs and norms of the local community (Smith, 2018). Amata Wellbeing centre project was a local community development project that inspired and allowed for the involvement of the local community in contributing to the project’s development. Also, the project’s design fit within the community’s needs, and it was convenient in meeting the needs of the project staff and the local community.

Lessons about Community development projects

Community development projects are essential in transforming poorly developed communities in society by focusing on the community’s needs (Howard-Wagner, 2021). The practice of successful community development projects has to involve proper processes to guarantee the desired outcomes. If there are no processes, the targeted outcome may not be realized; it is, therefore, essential to focus on implementing both to achieve a successful community development project (Langford et al., 2021). It requires individuals with specific knowledge and skills about the project to be implemented; this can be professional technocrats to help facilitate the process. The following are important lessons that can be learned about community development projects from Amata Wellbeing Center:

Identifying the problem: This is the first step that helps guide the needed project to be implemented for the local community. A local community faces several challenges, and it is essential to identify the most profitable project that will solve problems faced in the community (Hunt & Campbell, 2018). Identifying the problem involves gathering the necessary information in the local community and knowing their areas of need. The government identified the problems faced by the Amata community, which made it contribute funds for the development of the well-being centre. The collection of quantified data enables proper planning on the key needed projects in the local community (Smith, 2018).

Identifying the stakeholders: Community-level stakeholders play an important role in the successful execution of the project. The stakeholders can involve the local indigenous workers, community workers or business owners (Ken, 2022). 25% of the workforce was from the local indigenous community and 20% were from the Anangu. The local workforce formed a crucial part of the key stakeholders in the development of Amata Wellbeing center. The contractors also engaged Carey Training to help in teaching construction to the local community workers.

Identification of strategies: This involves discussing with the local community to identify the appropriate strategies that will help it accomplish a successful community development project. The project implementers have to consult the local community leadership and listen to their proposal on the project needs to be implemented this helps in the successful execution of the project. Strategy identification also helps in getting the tentative community goals about the project (Habibis et a., 2019). All stakeholders, and community members who have high experience about the project have to be involved to help in the identification of the right strategies.

Resource identification: Resources are important as these helps in the successful execution of the planned project. The community project implementers have to ensure that the budgeted resources are enough, and where there is a shortage, they should seek for additional funding (Smith, 2018). For Amata well-being center the funding was done by the Australian government and a total of $937,000 was spend on the project.

Implementation: After identification of the resources it is necessary to implement the project. The implementation can involve making a determination on whether to divide the project into phases. During the implementation it has to be done effectively with a collaboration with all the stakeholders in the community (Hunt & Campbell, 2018). The project has to also be evaluated to help in knowing the impacts it will have on the local community. Focusing in implementing the small things during a community development project helps in making a huge difference, small things matters and can bring immense success to the project.

Conclusion

Amata well-being center is an important n community development project that was implemented by the Australian government. The project was established due to the need of critical care services in the Amata community. There had been available evidence that people in the region face a number of health challenges ranging from drug abuse, malnutrition among children and environmental diseases. Amata well-being center was established to provide the needed therapies to people to help boost their health outcomes. There are significant lessons that can be learned about community development projects that includes proper planning, creating awareness, and upholding cooperation and integration with the local community. When a community development project is successfully implemented, it brings new social and community order which results in the improvement of lives.

References

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Bay, U. (2020). Governing Homelands in Desert Australia. In Social Work in Rural Australia (pp. 161-175). Routledge.

Habibis, D., Phillips, R., & Phibbs, P. (2019). Housing policy in remote Indigenous communities: how politics obstructs good policy. Housing Studies, 34(2), 252-271.

Hall, N. L., Lee, A., Hoy, W. E., & Creamer, S. (2021). Five enablers to deliver safe water and effective sewage treatment to remote Indigenous communities in Australia. Rural and Remote Health, 21(3).

Howard-Wagner, D. (2021). Indigenous Invisibility in the City: Successful Resurgence and Community Development Hidden in Plain Sight (p. 210). Taylor & Francis.

Hunt, J., & Campbell, D. (2018). Community Development in Central Australia: Broadening the Benefits from Land Use Agreements.

Ken, T. (2022). Bringing narrative practices to work with Anangu people. International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community Work, (2), 18-24.

Intract (2013). APY Family Wellbeing Centres. https://www.intract.com.au/project/apy-family-wellbeing-centres/

Langford, A., Lawrence, G., & Smith, K. (2021). Financialization for development? Asset making on indigenous land in remote Northern Australia. Development and Change, 52(3), 574-597.

Short, S. (2020). Community activism in the health policy process: the case of the Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia, 1987—96. In Activism and the policy process (pp. 122-145). Routledge.

Smith, D. E. (2018). ‘Working for CDEP’: a case study of the Community Development Employment Projects scheme in Port Lincoln, South Australia. Canberra, ACT: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), The Australian National University.

Tualaulelei, E., & Taylor-Leech, K. (2021). Building positive identities in a culturally safe space: An ethnographic case study from Queensland, Australia. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 15(2), 137-149.