DON GORDON, PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR, GUMALA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

“I am pleased to say how much I valued the program conducted by Outback Initiatives at the Karijini National Park.

As a participant, I was challenged by the exercises which were set for our team. I learnt a great deal about myself within this team environment, especially when it was my turn to take the lead. The feedback provided by the facilitators was insightful and gave me practical ideas to take away with me.

Apart from my role as a participant, I was also involved with some of the preorganisation and I appreciated the way the Outback staff went about their preparations. The staff were good to deal with. During the program their wisdom and systematic approach gave a great deal of confidence that they had things under control, that we were in good hands, even when difficulties arose and when the pressure was on.

Five of our staff were involved in this program and it has made a difference in our workplace afterwards. We see each other in a very different light- we can now see the qualities which we had not noticed before. This has helped us work together because we have a better understanding of teamwork and the different contribution each of us are making.

My general impression, from taking with other participants at the end of the program, is that they were inspired by the experience. It was a pivotal, life changing time. Many had found the program so helpful that they said they would like to participate in another program to take them to another level of skills and understanding.

Gumala was one of the sponsors of this particular event, and a result of the success of this program, we are planning to engage Outback Initiatives to conduct other programs for more of our staff.”