There are many dedicated staff, volunteers and supporters who together make the work of Red Nose possible. This is Skye’s story.
I joined Red Nose to support Aboriginal communities to have safer pregnancies and to sleep more safely with their babies.
As the Special Projects Officer, at Red Nose, I create content that is culturally safe and appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders families. This content focuses on safer pregnancy, safe sleeping and bereavement care. I also work with health care professionals and others who work with Aboriginal families to ensure cultural safety and considerations are at the centre of the care they provide. I’m also involved with various projects and will hopefully spend some more time in collaboration with the Bereavement team!
I spend a lot of time everyday thinking! Lots of thinking about how to best deliver information to Aboriginal families and to families experiencing vulnerability. Because I am visual, I often draw my ideas out on butcher’s paper. My kids laugh at me and say I look like I am a child drawing pictures and ideas out like this. I then translate all of this for brochures, resources and projects that are in the making.
I love being able to do something that supports my community and to do something that I am passionate about. I love the flexibility of being able to do the bulk of my work remotely as it means I get to work on my own Country, which is very important to my wellbeing and spirit, being an Aboriginal woman.
My Country is a constant inspiration. I live in the Mallee, Victoria and my Country is red dirt, stark blue sky and starry, starry nights. The sky is so clear and clean that you can see the entire milky way above my house!
In Springtime, it is filled with wildflowers and flowering gums and it is incredibly colourful and beautiful. Knowing that my ancestors have lived in this area I am on for 60,000 years makes me feel connected and like I belong.
Outside of work, I love painting and I love camping. I have a really good kitchen camp set up that I am always excited to use and impress people with. I love being with my friends, they are a very important part of my life.
I’m also a student hot air balloon pilot! I love the sky so much that I want to be up there in it, in a giant wicker basket, attached to a balloon filled with hot air! Not only that, I am the first Aboriginal hot air balloon pilot, which is a pretty fun fact to share with everyone!