To celebrate National Reconciliation week HMAS Albatross personnel have organised a book drive for Boori Preschool in West Nowra.
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Usually, the base marks National Reconciliation Week by hosting and participating in a range of community events throughout the Shoalhaven.
The COVID-19 restrictions meant that personnel had to consider how to embrace the 2020 theme In This Together while abiding by social distancing measures.
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Albatross Community Engagement Officer CPO Linda Eddington said 2020 was a very important year for reconciliation.
"It's the twentieth anniversary of the reconciliation walks of 2000, when people came together to walk on bridges and roads across the nation and show their support for a more reconciled Australia. So we looked for ways we could abide by the restrictions but still build bridges and connections with the wider community,"
"In the end we didn't need to look far. Just down the road from HMAS Albatross is Boori Preschool which caters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children."
Boori has a strong cultural focus, supporting children to deepen their connection with their culture and strengthen their sense of belonging. 28 children attend the preschool and the original target was to collect at least one book per child.
"We were very pleased with the response," CPO Eddington said.
"My office became a bit of a library as people dropped their books off for delivery."
The HMAS personnel loved reconnecting with some of their childhood favourites but they also really enjoyed discovering authors they'd never encountered before.
"My own favourites were Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy, which has some absolutely stunning illustrations by Lisa Kennedy and "Tell 'Em" which was written by Katrina Germein and Rosemary Sullivan with the children of Manyallaluk School.
"Manyallaluk is in the Eva Valley, in the NT, Darwin and describes itself as "a small school with a big heart" so while Albatross wanted to connect with the children at Boori, we also hope that they find connections through the books with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and the wider world."