BY RHIANNON CLARKE
The Binjari Community Aboriginal Corporation (BCAC), an Aboriginal Business Enterprise, is renovating and expanding five homes to meet the community’s requirements.
This endeavour has had a significant impact on the lives of numerous locals, including Tommy Wurramara (pictured), a proud Ngukurr resident, and two families with specific accessibility needs who have
recently relocated to their new residences.
Being a Ngukurr Traditional Owner and a devoted father to four boys, Mr Wurramara has been an employee of BCAC for nine years.
“I grew up here in Ngukurr, then left for Binjari 20 years ago, and that’s where I got this job. At first, I wanted to be a chippie, but I’m glad I chose painting because I’m pretty good at it,” he said.
Over the past four years, he has worked towards completing his apprenticeship and successfully
obtained his qualifications as a painter and decorator in December 2023.
“I was doing my apprenticeship for four years, through COVID when classes were often cancelled,
but I didn’t give up, and now I’m a qualified painter, I painted all these houses: the inside and the
outside, and even the steelworks,” said Mr Wurramara.
“I’m glad to see other local countrymen get jobs so they can find their feet too. We try to get a couple of locals to work on the houses in every job, as we need proper jobs in communities.”
This achievement has enhanced Mr Wurramara’s professional growth and contributed to the community’s overall progress.
View the original feature in National Indigenous Times.
