Ganbina

Indigenous youth realising career potential

A SNAPSHOT OF GANBINA

Ganbina was formed in Shepparton in 1997 as an independent registered charity managed by a full time EO and governed by an independent Board of Directors.                                                                  

Its overriding aim is to work together with local communities to gain economic and social equality for indigenous people within a time frame of two generations.

To achieve this, Ganbina is taking specific action to break the common cycle of indigenous generational welfare dependency by:

- Implementing programs which enable indigenous youth in the Goulburn Valley region to explore and realise their full individual potential.

- Migrating these programs and key learnings to other indigenous communities within Australia for implementation on a wider scale.

Ganbina’s work is supported by the like of:
Allens Arthur Robinson, AMP Foundation, Mr Jim Andreadis, Graham Ball, the Bennelong Group, the Berg Family Foundation, the Coles Group, Mr John Corby AM, Sylvia Geddes, Goldman Sachs JB Were, Dion Hershan, Grant Hooper, JA Com Foundation, Linqage International, Macquarie Group Foundation, Melbourne Community Fund, Melbourne Newsboys Foundation, Jill Nicholson, the John and Annie Patterson Foundation, Perpetual Trustees, Portland House Group, Puffing Billy Railway, the R.E. Ross Trust, John Salter, Social Ventures Australia, The Smith Family, Noel and Jenny Turnbull, VicHealth, Shemara Wikramanayake, and the Worktrainers Group.

THE NEED FOR GANBINA

Forty five per cent of all indigenous teenagers in Australia aged between 15 and 19 are neither studying nor working.

The statistics are higher in the Greater Shepparton area, where more than 80 per cent of the indigenous community is unemployed, a figure which is 10 times higher than the non-indigenous community.

For young people living in this region, the picture is particularly dismal, with average school retention rates peaking at just 23.8 per cent. This compares with a national average of 40 per cent.

Focused and sustained action, such as that provided by Ganbina, has been proven to successfully reverse these statistics.

Since inception, Ganbina has helped over 500 young people in the region to finish school, undertake tertiary or vocational training and to secure full time jobs.