A fundraiser for Kapululangu Aboriginal Women's Association will be held at Ceres Environmental Farm 8 Lee St. Brunswick East (Melbourne) from 6pm on Saturday 11th December 1999 There will be musical performances and you can purchase and eat your dinner from the cafe. Please mark this date in your diary now and let all your friends know. Further info below or contact Chris Sitka 9482 6420 or Sonja 9416 8214 KAPULULANGU AUSTRALIA'S MOST ISOLATED ABORIGINAL WOMEN'S CULTURAL CENTRE SEEKS YOUR ASSISTANCE TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN WOMEN'S SACRED YAWULYU - TRADITIONAL CULTURE. Kapululangu Aboriginal Women's Association has established a women's cultural centre in Wirrimanu (Balgo) Aboriginal Community, on the edge of Australia's isolated Western Desert in the East Kimberley Region. The senior Law women of Kapululangu Aboriginal Women's Association are custodians of traditional women's lore that needs to be sustained, protected and maintained. There is a lot of energy in Wirrimanu these days around taking care of women's culture. The women have organised themselves as an incorporated cultural organisation. They have recently begun to renovate an old shed(built in 1989) and are using it now as a cultural centre, tjilimi ("single" women's house), and a safehouse for women escaping or avoiding domestic violence. They have built a keeping shed for their ceremonial equipment, a kitchen to support those living at the centre,and are in the process of establishing an office. Lack of adequate funding and resources however is undermining that strength. Wirrimanu women are inviting you to join with them in a partnership to take care of their sacred yawulyu - a treasure that is important not only to them but to all global citizens that respect the indigenous cultures. They are in most urgent need of a vehicle as a means to enable them to access their ancestral country for ceremonial purposes, to practice their cultural and religious beliefs, to keep the Tjukurrpa (or Dreaming) alive; to pass their wisdom onto the younger generations,and to gather foods to improve their health. A vehicle would allow the women to: · perform their ceremonial and ritual responsibilities · gather bush foods thus improving their health · document women's religious and spiritual culture, safe-keeping it for future generations · gather natural resources for production of baskets and other items for sale bringing in a small income · enable them to teach their younger women in cultural practices · and many more activities necessary to maintaining a strong, vibrant society. They need to have a vehicle that is capable of carrying them safely into some of Australia's most isolated and difficult desert regions. This car will cost $A30,000 to buy and a further $10,000 to maintain and run for one year. This is a total of $40,000 Raising funds for buying the vehicle is the biggest problem facing the women despite it being their most urgent need. The Ceres fundraiser is being organised to help raise these funds. If you want to help come along or send a donation. The evening will be a fun time combining music with political committment to the Kapululangu women. For more information on KAWA see website: <http://www.pasifika.net/pacific-action/kapululangu.html> LL.VL -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink