in the words of Kym Tuuta, Centre Coordinator, yarning with Leah from NCQ.
This place is a blanket woven from countless threads. Each person who walks through the door adds their own colour, texture, and strength. We’re all interconnected. You can’t pull one thread out without the whole thing beginning to unravel, and that’s a reminder of how deeply we rely on one another. This space, this community, every moment of growth or healing or connection has been created together.
There’s some magic that happens. I can’t even explain it. It’s an energy that settles over you, almost like glitter falling from the ceiling as soon as you walk in! You know that saying, leave a little glitter wherever you go? That’s what this Centre does, and what the land itself does. Some places just hold something special, the same way the desert has a magic that gets under your skin and never leaves. This Community Centre does that. It still gives me goosebumps, even after the challenges, even after the moments that felt heavy or negative. Those are just doors closing so new ones can open, and behind those doors are windows filled with choices, possibilities, new connections and new ways of becoming who we’re meant to be.
Some of the most powerful threads in this blanket are the people and partnerships that have shaped it. Auntie Vera — forgive me for speaking her name, but she knows she’s with us all the time — was one of those threads. Those dragonflies that you see flying around? That’s what she is. She brought so much wisdom, so much connection as a proud Wakka Wakka Woman. She brought in so many different partnerships. Kambu has come in. We’ve had Boorrumpah Goupong – beautiful, amazing, wonderful things. Native Networks have come in. We have Play Matters who look after babies, Sing and Grow, and all the play groups. We also have My Time, which is a play group for parents who have children who have really special needs, and so that they can come together and support each other. Life Without Barriers. There’s the cooking group, the art group, Good Shepherd, they’ve been amazing.
There’s this little bird that sits in the rain, and it has a special feather that becomes an umbrella. That’s what our Community Connect Worker Emma is like. She wraps around everyone. She has this myriad of amazing networks, she looks at the specific needs. She allows some time to breathe and grow, allows that person to make the choice if they want to make. If they don’t, they’re not ready, that’s okay too. That’s another part of this place being magic, is we do not push anybody. If they want to speak, that’s okay. They don’t want to speak, that’s okay. It’s everything in your own time, everything in divine timing, everything in that process.
We try very hard to let people know it’s safe here. You can be your authentic self when you come in, you don’t have to put on a mask, you don’t have to put on airs and graces. There’s no judgment, not from us – humanity does that enough. Our mantra is “kindness is catching”. Paying it forward, because you become that ripple in the pond. If we can make one person smile, or we can give someone one positive experience, then we’ve done our job.
I was talking to the girls the other day, and said “You know what this place is like? We are a jewel box” I said, “full of beautiful jewels, all different jewels, rough ones, polished ones, whatever, big ones, little ones.” There’s a few entitled people who come in and try and take advantage. And I, my core value is justice and truth and fairness. So I’ll go, “Hey, remember it’s for everybody. If there’s anything left over, you’re welcome to, but make sure you leave something for somebody else
Michael is an amazing human. He’s got magic in his hands, and he just touches the soil, and it grows. He runs his own business, but he still finds time to come down and give to here. This is like his extended garden. We let people grow in their own space. Do what you need to do. We’re happy to support, as long as it stays within the benefit for the good of all and harm to no one. We’re happy to support, because each person has different dreams, but we’re all pretty much the same, like a rainbow.
Food is another huge thread. Food connects everyone — every culture, every background, every life story. It’s been at the core of what we do, from surplus bread to fridges that were absolute blessings, from farmers picking up leftover loaves for their animals to feeding rosellas, cockatoos, currawongs and kookaburras that decorate the trees like Christmas baubles. Nothing goes to waste. Donations fill the sheds, and everything goes to people who need it — families leaving homelessness, people displaced by floods, young people sleeping rough, refugees, travellers, whoever walks through the door.
I think we need to honour and to learn from our First Nations people, especially the ones who are connected to country. We’re on their land. They are the knowledge keepers of everything. Find out who your Elders are, who speaks for the mob. Listen, don’t just hear, listen to what they’re saying. Because there are words spoken that echo and they it might be a week later that you’ll understand what was just said. Everything is built on a relationship, and a relationship doesn’t happen with one conversation or two conversations, it happens over years. There’s been a lot of beautiful programs that have come through the centres, but we need to put the groundwork in first. Don’t have expectations, just sit and listen to what they want. That’s why a lot of programs don’t survive, or their funding gets dropped, because what’s on the paper may be lovely, but they haven’t put the work in.
There is always more to do — showers, laundromats, wet rooms, food programs, transitions from prison, social enterprise ideas — all possibilities, all threads waiting to be woven in.
Written by: Leah Sanderson
Published: December 2025