RDN Share
The Western NSW Eye Health Partnership recently joined more than 600 children from across NSW at the Goodooga Games, taking eye health promotion to Country and creating opportunities for children, families and community to yarn about the importance of looking after their eyes.
The Goodooga Games provided a wonderful opportunity for staff representing RDN Health to connect with community in a fun and culturally meaningful environment.
Eye health was brought to life through a range of interactive activities designed to help children understand what it can be like to experience changes in vision.
RDN Health’s Regional Implementation Project Officer Tori Towney said connecting with community on Country and bringing eye health promotion directly to people is an important part of their work.
“The Goodooga Games provided a valuable opportunity to connect, yarn, learn and share while reminding us that eye health is an important part of overall health and wellbeing,” Tori said.
Tori explained that through conversations and activities, children were also encouraged to share what they loved to see on Country.
“Their responses included animals, kindness, fresh water, the pool being open, fishing, emus, kangaroos, big boars, family and leadership,” she said.
“Children also spoke about the importance of seeing people learning traditional knowledge and skills so these can be passed on to future generations.”
Tori said Vision Australia deserved a special shout-out for providing cataract and diabetic retinopathy simulation glasses.
“The glasses allowed children to experience how different eye conditions can affect vision, with many taking part in an interactive football activity where they attempted to throw a football into a net while wearing the glasses,” she said.
Staff agreed that the activity provided a fun and memorable way for children to understand the impact that changes in vision can have on everyday activities.
“We would also like to thank The Fred Hollows Foundation for attending the Games and supporting the partnership with promotional items for the event. Their support helped us engage with children and families and continue important conversations about eye health.
“A big thank you also goes to the Minum Barreng Indigenous Eye Health Unit at The University of Melbourne for providing the Milpa Clean Faces, Strong Eyes resources to share with children at the event. These engaging and interactive resources were a fantastic addition to our eye health activities, helping to make learning about eye health fun, accessible and meaningful for children.”
RDN Health would also like to thank the Goodooga community, NSW Department of Education, children, families and all our partners for helping make the event such a meaningful and memorable experience.
The Western NSW Eye Health Partnership is funded by The Fred Hollows Foundation and administered by RDN Health, working with partners and communities across Western NSW to support improved eye health outcomes for Aboriginal people.
Related news: Three representatives from the National Rural Health Student Network (NRHSN) also travelled to, and volunteered their time at, the Goodooga Games this month. Read more here.