Gudaga celebrates 10th Birthday

Posted 4 December 2015

The Gudaga team have been working with the Aboriginal community of the Macarthur region of South Western Sydney for 10 years. The Gudaga Study (meaning healthy baby in the local Dharawal language) is a longitudinal cohort study that started in 2005, which aims to address the gap in health, development and health service use of Aboriginal families and children in disadvantaged urban communities.  It started by monitoring, over a three year period, the health status of 149 Aboriginal babies born at Campbelltown hospital. The study has continued on and expanded into Gudaga II, III and Gudaga goes to School with the children now 9 years of age.

The birthday event ran in two parts with first hour aimed at project stakeholders and networks. It showcased short presentations of Gudaga’s journey, findings and community impact, along with future Gudaga plans for  Gudaga Goes to High School.  A birthday cake was cut to celebrate the milestone by TAC CEO Mr Darryl Wright and Gudaga Program Leaders A/Prof Elizabeth Comino and Prof Lynn Kemp.

The second part of the festivities began with children arriving afterschool and starting the party. The children received healthy snacks of fruit and water and a gift bag to begin the activities. Aboriginal games and activities were run by Tharawal’s Family and Communities personnel and Gudaga staff. A raffle was also conducted for the children with prizes including an iPad, fruit and vegetable boxes, and basketballs. The prizes were donated by our research partner TAC. The families, staff and event attendees enjoyed a delicious and healthy dinner. The evening concluded with another birthday cake, which was cut by Mr Wright and Gudaga children.

The birthday party received local media attention with NITV filming and broadcasting the event. A clip of the broadcast can be viewed on youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrM42aYQv8Q&feature=youtu.be