Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc

Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc (BACLGI) uses our investment proceeds along with government and other funding to deliver a range of services to the remote Indigenous community of Bidyadanga. Our purpose is to create a better future for our children, improve living standards and overall quality of life. From an almost zero rate base, we provide municipal services to our 1000 residents including rubbish removal, landscaping, road maintenance, airport maintenance, dog control and many other essential services. Our goal is to go beyond the mere provision of essential services and lobby to get funding for parks, gardens, libraries and other amenities that most towns enjoy. We strive to employ Indigenous people wherever possible and undertake meaningful training programs to staff under this program. We partner with the local school to provide after school programs that keep children engaged in activities and run vacation programs that motivate our kids to be involved in sport and their community as a whole. We provide meals on wheels and other home and community care services with assistance from the department of health and dedicated staff members. Our Community Resource Centre provides a community hub for accessing reading material and the internet, this is an essential service that connects Bidyadanga people to banking, shopping and other services. Bidyadanga is a dry community and we are also trying to tackle smoking and drug use. We are fearful of the drug ice ruining our community like it has done in other places, and the board of Directors are talking about ways the board can assist to keep this drug out of our community. In collaboration with the police, we are developing bylaws and surveillance so that early intervention can occur. Culture is an important part of life at Bidyadanga and our community supports cultural activities that are led by elders and supported by the board. Funding is set aside for cultural activities and poverty relief with a focus on providing assistance to the most vulnerable members such as the very young and very old. Poverty relief is restricted to food items, fuel and power.