The Miimi program aims to empower, support and ensure self-pride for the year nine and 10 Wellington High School students in all areas of life including personal hygiene, presentation, mental health, culture and mentoring. 

Workshops are delivered by local Wellington women about topics such as social media, presentation and make up, leadership, sexual health, resume writing, culture and drug and alcohol. 

Miimi program participants Makayla Humphries and Alyssa Smith said they had both enjoyed the first three weeks. 

“It’s helpful, it’s about personal things and professional experience,” Ms Humphries said. 

Ms Smith said the most important part had been setting personal goals so far.

She said it was important to learn you don’t have to limit yourself, and gave them “things to look forward too and focus on,” Ms Smith said.  

At the end of their third session, both said they hoped to give back to the program in their future. 

“After we’ve finished, we have younger cousins and sisters who we can pass on what we’ve learnt from this,” Ms Humphries said. 

The program is a partnership with Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Services (WACHS) and Wellington High School and is funded by Aboriginal Affairs. 

NSW Regional Manager of Aboriginal Affairs Julie Blackhall she saw it as an enrichment program which would empower Wellington women. 

“The investment is very small but the outcome is great.”

As a local Wellington woman, she said she felt passionate about this community and the young women involved.

“I think the program is really about allowing these girls to develop, to give them the skills to allow that journey, to be proud of who they are and where they come from.

“I’ve seen the community change, we have crime statistics, but there’s been always pride and ownership of this town. 

“I’m proud to say I’m from Wellington, its about allowing the girls to grow but remembering and remain strong to who they are and when they come from. 

“I think giving young women life skills and confidence is really important in allowing them to progress, to become a valuable asset to the community

“We can’t measure their success right now or in six months the measure of success will be inter-generational,” Ms Blackhall said. 

WACHS Health Promotion Officer Tanika Davis helped organise the program and said Wiradjuri culture had been heavily incorporated. 

She said the workshops and the theme were based around the theme ‘Miimi’, the Wiradjuri word for sister. 

The workshop held today was about presentation which offers the students “techniques to present themselves, how to dress for interviews, for work, for every day life,” she said. 

She said make up and presentation skills were lessons for the young women in both their personal and professional development. 

“Being a young Indigenous woman myself, we all need self-esteem, self-respect and confidence, and those at the tools we want to provide today.” 

She said future workshops would include culture, art and dance, where local artists, elders and other Wellington locals would collaborate with the students. 

“We’ve collected the best sessions we think would most appeal to the girls at their age, sourced the community, we love what we do and we love that we could create a program to support these girls in the future.  

“Some of these girls come from broken homes, we want them to really feel they’re a part of something here at the school,” Ms Davis said.