At the end of last month, the Pathfinders National Aboriginal Birth Certificate (PNABC) program held a highly successful sign-up day in Brisbane. The event was supported by staff from UNICEF Australia, Births, Deaths and Marriages QLD, and Gunya Meta, a local non-profit Aboriginal organisation dedicated to serving the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in Logan, Brisbane.
The event was one of the largest sign-up days Pathfinders has held, with over 200 applications received within hours. The PNABC team was incredibly fortunate to have the dedicated support of the team at Gunya Meta. Their staff worked tirelessly alongside our team to assist the community in completing applications in a safe and supportive environment. Their assistance was invaluable, and we are deeply grateful for their partnership.
UNICEF Australia joined us once again, engaging with the community to understand the common barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when attempting to obtain a birth certificate. We were fortunate to have an abundance of interview participants, allowing Pathfinders and UNICEF to conduct video interviews with the community. These interviews will form part of a larger campaign to be launched by UNICEF later this year. We are incredibly grateful to all the participants who shared their stories with us, providing valuable insights into the needs and challenges faced by many in the community.
We had the opportunity to speak with several locals who attended the event, some of whom were applying for a birth certificate for the first time in their lives. There was a significant number of applicants with unregistered births, and with the support of Births, Deaths and Marriages QLD, we were able to locate these individuals, register their births, and complete their applications for a birth certificate.
Pathfinders is thankful for our partnerships and the support of the community, which enable us to support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We look forward to continuing our work with these fantastic organisations to make a positive impact in the community.
Thank you to everyone who participated and continues to support PNABC, helping us hold these important sign-up days.
