Uncle Bruce and Aunty Viv and the Yurungai Swim Programme

Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth and senior youth counsellor Aunty Vivian Freeman

Uncle Bruce and Aunty Viv and the Yurungai Swim Programme

Artist and activist Bruce Shillingsworth and Vivian Freeman have been at the Icebergs Pool over the last week with their charges from the Yurungai Learning Centre. The children have been participating in the learn to swim programme and it’s the first time they’ve done so in an ocean pool.

The learning centre is run by Barnados and offers “after-school homework support service primarily to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending primary school with a focus on education and cultural activities …”

Uncle Bruce, a Murawari man, and Aunty Viv, a Wiradjuri women, are senior youth workers at Barnados. Aunty Viv has worked at Barnados for 20 years and is the senior advisor and manager of Aboriginal and Torres Island Programs at Yurungai.

Yurungai means Black Duck in the Eora language.