Our Story
Nalderun came about through the work and legacy of Uncle Brien Nelson and Aunty Julie McHale, who believed that sharing is the way forward for everyone.
At our core Nalderun creates empowering education and employment opportunities for First Nations young people at the foothills of Liyanganyuk Banyul, on Djaara Country.
About Nalderun
Nalderun is the Djaara word for All Together. Together with the broader community we are growing our young people strong and proud through connection to Community, Country, and Culture.
Led under the guidance of senior Djaara Elder Uncle Rick Nelson and continuing the legacy of Uncle Brien Nelson and Aunty Julie McHale, we currently support more than 150 young people across Djaara Country.
Nalderun offers programs to nurture young people by teaching and grounding them in culture. This includes wrap-around services to support children as they move through the school system and into meaningful work. Together we are growing young people strong and proud through connection to community, culture and Country.
Our Impact
Over the past 15 years we have seen our children become stronger, proud and deadly. We know their future, and the future for their children's children is safe, having created programs and ways of being and teaching over many years. Nalderun came about through the work and legacy of Uncle Brien Nelson and Aunty Julie McHale, who believed that sharing is the way forward for everyone.
Taking a holistic, intergenerational and strength-based approach, our programs respond to the challenges young people often face in the mainstream education system. In our Balotj cyclical mentoring model, children are mentored by youth, youth are mentored by young leaders, and young leaders are mentored by senior leaders and Elders. After fifteen years of this work, we now have several Youth Leaders who have been mentored, built capacity and grown up strong in culture through Nalderun's programs. They are now employed by Nalderun as teachers, mentors, Directors, and co-managers of key programs. These young people are the heart of the organisation, and are active in determining what Nalderun does, and how grows into the future.
Nalderun has also contributed to systems change where we look at the upstream issues and support and train teachers, local schools and the education system in our ways of teaching and curriculum that follow our protocols. Nalderun has been able to operate for so long through people power, volunteers and strong partnerships with the broader community that we have built.
Learn more about our aims and impact
“...people that work for Nalderun and the people that it attracts are such amazing, honourable, understanding, humble, loving, tolerant humans. There are many Mob and allies who have worked tirelessly for Nalderun, for their belief in how things should be and that’s what makes Nalderun work.”
Our Values
Kids at the core. We trust our young people to tell us what they need.
Show our young people unconditional love and kindness
Give young people a chance to be on Country and give back to Country
Celebrate Mob ways of doing, being, and knowing
Create spaces of dignity, safety, and belonging for all
Build the Cultural understanding of all members of our Community
Build collective capacity to care for Country and restore health to Country
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