Malpa
Supporting aboriginal Elders to train Indigenous children in health literacy using a combination of bush and western medicine.
It is a proven way for aboriginal people to take control of their health by blending culturally-appropriate understandings of health with contemporary medical knowledge. Mirroring the traditional aboriginal way of educating Ngangkari (doctors), aboriginal children are trained to become Young Doctors. They act as health ambassadors to help break the inevitable trajectory from childhood sickness to chronic ill-health and early death. Kurdu, kurdu Doctors is based on a core model that has achieved great success in Indonesia and is largely responsible for there being no outbreak of cholera after the tsunami in Banda Aceh. The model has also been tested in Nepal, where there are now 2,000 Child Doctors, proving that limited resources are not a barrier to effective implementation of culturally appropriate programs that build an understanding of the relationship between hygiene and health.
2013 Pitch
Funds raised: $19,850
Malpa got involved in TFN's 2013 pilot series and raised $19,700 to continue supporting aboriginal Elders to train Indigenous children in health literacy using a combination of bush and western medicine.
The impact...
The Malpa Project's Kurdu, kurdu Doctors (Young Doctors) supports aboriginal Elders to train their children in health literacy using a combination of bush medicine and western medicine. It is a proven way for aboriginal people to take control of their health by blending culturally-appropriate understandings of health with contemporary medical knowledge. Mirroring the traditional aboriginal way of educating Ngangkari (doctors), aboriginal children are trained to become Young Doctors. They act as health ambassadors to help break the inevitable trajectory from childhood sickness to chronic ill-health and early death. Kurdu, kurdu Doctors is based on a core model that has achieved great success in Indonesia and is largely responsible for there being no outbreak of cholera after the tsunami in Banda Aceh. The model has also been tested in Nepal, where there are now 2,000 Child Doctors, proving that limited resources are not a barrier to effective implementation of culturally appropriate programs that build an understanding of the relationship between hygiene and health.
Read their Impact Report
30 June 2016 Pitch
Funds raised: $27,797
Malpa delivers grassroots Young Doctors programs for Indigenous and non-indigenous children, where communities train their young people to become active health ambassadors. In each community, local people help to identify key health topics and are then employed to train the kids about traditional and modern health principles including hygiene, nutrition and, importantly, leadership. Malpa pitched to extend its programs into the ACT for the first time.
The impact...
Most of the young participants in the Namadgi Doctor project come from highly disadvantaged backgrounds. Social fragility, family instability, low expectations and low self esteem are the norm - but with the arrival of Malpa in the community, local leaders report that children find a new sense of their own worth and achieve real improvements in their social skills. These young children develop to see themselves as leaders and invariably engage in leadership roles in the school environment (for example, becoming school captains) and other projects. In parallel, relationships between parents and children improve and a real sense of pride is developed.
Malpa pitched at The Funding Network in Canberra in June 2016 and raised $27,797 to develop 'Young Doctors' in the ACT and the results over the past 12 months have exceeded expectations - with 28 Namadgi doctors trained, four staff employed part time and over 50 parents and carers involved in the the project as well.
Later in the year, Malpa featured on ABC News leading to a a subsequent meeting with the Federal Minister for Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt. Malpa Leaders and managers are now offering ACT Education department an opportunity to be 'friends on the journey' as they seek funding for full time resource to deliver Young Doctors project to eight schools in the district.
“The social and health problems that impact on the lives of Indigenous families and children are not confined to the remote Northern Territory but are very real right in the urban heart of our nation,” according to project Manager, Karen Parter, a Kalkadoon woman from Mt Isa. With Malpa working on the ground, the Namadgi Doctor project is making a real contribution to improving student engagement and empowerment in the nation's capital territory.
Read their Impact Report
Don Palmer, CEO, The Malpa Project
'Pop -up' pilot
9 June 2016 Pitch
Funds raised: $2,700
Good health strengthens communities. The Malpa Project works to realise this in Aboriginal communities by working with young Aboriginal people to create local ‘health ambassadors.’ With an emphasis on extending Indigenous leadership within the organisation, CEO Don Palmer pitched at this pilot pop-up crowdfunding night to provide a paid internship for an inspiring young Indigenous woman, Kiarra Smalle, who is completing an Indigenous Health degree at the University of Wollongong.
2024 Pitch
Funds Raised: $26,100
Malpa pitched at the 2024 Equity and Inclusion event in Melbourne seeking funds for their Young Doctors for Life ("Bubup Doctors" in Victoria) consists of nine projects in four schools in Semester 2, 2024. It trains primary Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children to be active health ambassadors in their communities. The funds would go towards fully operationalising projects including employing two experienced Aboriginal staff.
