To celebrate 10 years of delivering transformational change with Aboriginal children, families and communities, Moriarty Foundation has distributed 3,000 children’s books to 17 primary schools in remote and regional Aboriginal communities.
Moriarty Foundation delivers two well known and highly regarded solutions to disparity, John Moriarty Football and Indi Kindi. Through these programs, Moriarty Foundation reaches over 2,000 Indigenous children each week in 23 public schools and 19 communities in New South Wales, Queensland and Northern Territory, and is achieving proven progress in 13 of the 17 Closing the Gap targets.
Moriarty Foundation Co-Founder and Honorary Managing Director, Ros Moriarty, said, “The past decade has really proved that our community-led, locally embedded and holistic approach enables families to unlock the potential of their children.The transformation has been exponential.”
“This book drive is inspired by one of the first – and continuing – initiatives at Indi Kindi, our groundbreaking early years solution for Indigenous children under five, which is a book delivery in Borroloola called Library Without Walls.”
Moriarty Foundation’s Library Without Walls Book Drive was made possible by generous donations of children’s books from leading Australian publishers Allen & Unwin, Big Sky Publishing, Affirm Press and Hardie Grant.
Moriarty Foundation partner primary schools benefiting from the book drive include:
- Buninyong Public School, NSW
- Dubbo West Public School, NSW
- Gilgandra Public School, NSW
- Gordonvale Primary School, QLD
- Mareeba State Primary School, QLD
- Mossman State Primary School, QLD
- Mungkarta School, NT
- Narromine Public School, NSW
- Neutral Junction School, NT
- Orana Heights Public School, NSW
- Peak Hill Central School, NSW
- Sadadeen Primary School, NT
- Tennant Creek Primary School, NT
- Ti Tree School, NT
- Warren Central School, NSW
- Yarrabah State School, QLD
- Yipirinya School, NT
Moriarty Foundation was founded in 2012 in the remote community of Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory by Yanyuwa man John Moriarty AM – the first Indigenous footballer to be selected for Australia – and business leader and author, Ros Moriarty.
The communities where Moriarty Foundation delivers face complex intergenerational issues of disadvantage and trauma. Extreme remoteness and low levels of education, health, and employment are the context for Moriarty Foundation’s breakthrough impacts.
Yanyuwa man John Moriarty AM, JMF Co-Founder/Co-Chair and the first Indigenous footballer selected for Australia, said, “From starting with just 120 children in my home town of Borroloola to now reaching 2,000 Indigenous children, our teams have created an Australian success story of radically shifting the intergenerational disadvantages experienced by Aboriginal families.”
“Our upstream approach tackles many complex challenges, including life expectancy, child development, physical and mental health, education, unemployment and juvenile justice overrepresentation. We succeed because we are Indigenous-founded, Indigenous-delivered, embedded, connected to culture, holistic and authentic.”
John Moriarty Football is Australia’s longest running and most successful Indigenous football initiative for 2-18 year olds. John Moriarty Football’s transformational skills program uses football for talent and positive change. It has a track record of improving school attendance and achieving resilient, healthier outcomes for Indigenous children.
Indi Kindi is a groundbreaking early years program for children under five in remote Aboriginal communities. It integrates health, wellbeing, education and development to give children the best start in life.
Indi Kindi is an associate member of national Indigenous early years peak body SNAICC, is represented on the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Policy Partnership established by the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, and aligns with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework.
As part of Indi Kindi’s Library Without Walls initiative, after each session each child is given a book to take home to encourage reading and literacy. Indi Kindi’s sector-leading, culturally-embedded learning on Country model ensures young Aboriginal learners thrive.
