“I’m never going to take this off. I’ve never been given a gift before.”
That’s what a young girl from the remote Jigalong community said to me as I handed her a Woolworths Cricket Blast shirt. A quick interaction that will stick with me forever.
In my role with the WA Cricket Foundation I get to travel a bit, unlike some unlucky people who spend their life behind a desk! But the real pleasure and privilege is engaging with the kids in remote Aboriginal communities, children who wouldn’t otherwise get that opportunity.
In early August I hit the road with our North West Cricket Manager Chris Secker, to connect and establish ongoing relationships with remote communities of the Western Desert in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia. We were guided by Nixon Hamlet from Ngurra Kujungka Inc., the Western Desert’s first community-driven regional sport and recreation organisation, which gave us access to communities we’d never previously been to.
Only accessible by unsealed roads and surrounded by red dirt, most of the towns we went to had never seen cricket before, and as a Whadjuk Noongar man I had never seen that land. It’s country that will take your breath away.
Our adventure began in the Punmu Community, about 380kms inland of Telfer, and outside the realms of mobile phone reception. We introduced 20 kids at the local school and their teachers to some traditional Aboriginal games as a new way to engage in cricket. They absolutely loved the experience!
The strength and generosity of the community became even more evident when a clip snapped off our car battery in the middle of nowhere. One of the teachers opened his toolbox, got out the angle grinder and a screwdriver, and soon had a clip off a broken-down car to get us going. Thank goodness for bush mechanics!
From Marble Bar to Nullagine, Jigalong, Newman and Port Hedland we had amazing opportunities to connect with the locals and kids in those communities. We’re determined to ensure the connections we built aren’t a one-off, and our positive impact in the region is ongoing.
To do that, we trained recreation officers and teachers from the communities to run our cricket programs, giving them the skills, resources, and access to funding they need to move forward. We also identified potential locations for Deadly Cricket, the WA Cricket Foundation’s social inclusion and engagement program that promotes involvement in cricket alongside an education in areas such as nutrition, mental health, and leadership.
We’re really excited to see what we can do next in these towns, the schools, their after-school programs, and local cricket associations, particularly in the Aboriginal space.
You can always look for the next Australian cricketer, but the real reason we do what we do is to provide genuine opportunities for kids who don’t get many.
Adam Cockie, Project Officer – Aboriginal Cricket