Mechtilde and Donavan
Mechtilde Timapatua with her bub Gordon
Parents Mechtilde and Donavan are deadly role models for baby Gordon
Living in a remote community doesn’t stop Wurrumiyanga couple, Mechtilde and Donovan from taking part in the Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP). They are proud parents to little Gordon, who is flourishing.
Nurse Supervisor for ANFPP in the Top End, Vania Silva says, “This young couple are such great parenting role models in their community”.
Overseeing the other remote communities, Vania revealed Mechtilde and Donovan are typical of strong, young parents emerging across the ANFPP communities of Maningrida, Wadeye and Gunbalanya.
“They’re doing a deadly job establishing their new family with care and attention, learning from their Nurse Home Visitor and Family Partnership Worker," says Vania.
"The establishment of trust with their own Nurse Home Visitor and Family Partnership Worker enables them to explore and embrace healthy changes."
Proud dad Donavan holding Gordon.
A bit about Wurrumiyanga
Wurrumiyanga (formerly Nguiu), with a population of about 1500, is a community on the southern coast of Bathurst Island, part of the beautiful Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory.
The islands are inhabited by the Tiwi people, as they have been for thousands of years before European settlement in Australia. The Tiwi are an Australian Aboriginal people, culturally and linguistically distinct from those on the mainland 70km across the Beagle Gulf.
Most residents speak Tiwi as their first language and English as a second language.
CONTACT US
Molly Wardaguga Research Centre | Charles Darwin University
phone: +61 7 3169 4283 or 0448 570 503
The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) National Support Service (NSS) acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands and waters on which we live and work. We pay respect to elders past and present. We further acknowledge that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and communities are diverse and dynamic and continue to evolve and develop in response to historical and present social, economic, cultural and political circumstances.
Diversity includes gender, age, languages, backgrounds, sexual orientations, religious beliefs, family responsibilities, marriage status, life and work experiences, personality and educational levels (Commonwealth of Australia, 2013)