WAMINDA (South Coast Aboriginal Women's Health and Welfare Corporation), women have shown their power and determination at this year’s NSW Knockout Health Challenge.
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Together the team of 30 lost 159kg to bite on gold after the 12-week challenge.
Dead or Deadly program co-ordinator Willow Firth said it was incredible, not only to win, but to hear what the women got out of the program, which helps Aboriginal women to prevent and manage chronic disease.
Ms Firth said the program looked out for the physical, social, emotional, cultural and mental health of these women.
“These women would not otherwise exercise. They wouldn’t go to a mainstream gym,” she said.
“The shed was at risk of closing, but this prize money will enable it to stay open, hopefully until we secure long-term funding.
She said the demand was huge.
“We cant keep up. We need a warehouse,” Ms Firth said.
“The results speak for themselves.”
The women’s pride in themselves was evident and Ms Firth said their effort weighed in.
The two biggest losers,Tammy and Natasha McLeod, each lost over 20kg to put the team at the top of the leader-board.
Natasha said when she started she doubted her abilities, but the 12-week challenge proved her wrong.
“Now that I’ve started there’s no stopping,” she said.
“When we first started coming here it was torture, but once we started getting a handle on the equipment and saw the weight dropping off we couldn’t get enough.”
Ms McLeod said even though the challenge was over everyone would continue along their path to a healthier, active life.
The Dead or Deadly group for the 2015 challenge included women from three local Aboriginal communities including the Nowra/Bomaderry, Wreck Bay and Jerrinja areas.
