A MEDAL of the Order of Australia has been awarded to Karen Heap for her significant services to Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n
Ms Heap is a Yorta Yorta and Barkandji woman who has been the CEO of the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative, or BADAC, since 2004.<\/p>\n
She has also held a range of other roles such as director of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and assistant manager at the Indigenous Unit for Corrections Victoria.<\/p>\n
Ms Heap said she is grateful to receive the honour and sees herself as a community member doing her part.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably don\u2019t see myself as being a leader as such, I\u2019m really just a person who comes in and does her job and has a passion and commitment to seeing her community thrive and help them get the services that they really do need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Since 2004, Ms Heap has helped lead an expansion of services offed by BADAC, including the introduction of health and sporting programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest thing I\u2019ve been able to achieve is that we have a fully functioning health clinic with several doctors, several nurses and aboriginal health professionals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel very happy and very proud that it\u2019s working and it\u2019s providing a fantastic service to the Aboriginal community of Ballarat and district.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clinic has led to an improvement in Indigenous health outcomes in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the things that have changed are health status and making sure people are diagnosed early,\u201d said Ms Heap.<\/p>\n
BADAC has also made strides in relation to Indigenous education over the last two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the education system is getting a little better and we\u2019ve been very fortunate developing kinder and long day care services,\u201d said Ms Heap.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have community kinder and long day care centre in Sebastopol and Brown Hill, and we are about to start one in Ballan.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Heap said she hopes these services can increase all children\u2019s understanding of Indigenous culture from an early age.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to develop the cultural aspects in those early years for all children, so they have a different view of aboriginal people and understand our culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A MEDAL of the Order of Australia has been awarded to Karen Heap for her significant services to Indigenous communities. Ms Heap is a Yorta Yorta and Barkandji woman who has been the CEO of the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative, or BADAC, since 2004. She has also held a range of other roles such […]<\/p>\n