Murray Bridge's Minya Porlar Creche childcare centre is celebrating 21 years of care and culture for children.
The centre, run by ac.care, offers childcare services for the Aboriginal community and vulnerable families in Murray Bridge.
Advertisement
Meri Daniel, ac.care's children's services director said due to COVID-19, Minya Porlar Creche was unable to celebrate their 20th birthday and instead was celebrating 21 years of delivering early childhood education and care.
Ms Daniel has worked for the organisation for 20 years and has seen the importance of offering tailored and culturally-appropriate care to vulnerable children, and supporting parents to work, secure employment or study.
"I've seen families come back around with the next generation over that time and also many staff complete training and continue to work at the creche or contribute to the broader community in health or education thanks to the training provided as part of their employment," Ms Daniel said.
"We made a commitment from the start to not only provide high quality early childhood care and education to the community to prepare children for school, but also deliver career opportunities for community members."
The centre's practice is modelled on an Aboriginal-specific child care program and provides opportunities for children to experience local language, a nutrition program, natural play environments, links with other community based programs, and cultural experiences focused on the Ngarrindjeri nation on which the creche operates.
The creche's focus on culturally-appropriate care is treasured by the senior Aboriginal advisor of ac.care, Kathy Rigney.
"Sharing language, knowledge, stories and history with our children is important," Ms Rigney said.
"It is great to see the kids speaking some of the language and singing in Ngarrindjeri.
"I have so much respect for the service as an Aboriginal creche and the staff that work there," she said.
The creche supplies parents with a range of services to relieve burdens, including a bus service to help families with limited access to the centre and to take children on excursions in the community.
Operated by ac.care with funding from the Department of Employment, Skills and Education, the creche operates Monday to Friday from 8.15am to 5.15pm and offers subsidies to offset out of pocket fees for parents.
Join Minya Porlar Creche in their birthday celebrations by enjoying their video: https://youtu.be/vVTMwBx_104
