Beautiful people: CJ Wello

Our beautiful Koori girls sang and brought down the house. Keep an eye out for them in the future.

The visionaries of Waminda and current CEO of Waminda Faye Worner.

Proudest moment watching my best friend shine <3 You're the bomb sis!

Two months ago I was invited to attend the Waminda Ball that was held to celebrate 30 years of service to the Aboriginal Women on the South Coast in New South Wales. I've known of Waminda for as long as I can remember because my best friend's mother had worked with them for years.

It was a familiar office that we'd call into when walking through town. We would see the same faces and feel that sense of community when walking through the door. When you're a young Polynesian girl growing up in a predominately white community, you find community in a sense of familiarity and belonging and this was one of those places for me. 

As I've grown up and gone out into the world, I've had the good fortune of possessing a loving family, a hefty collection of true friends and a chance to travel and see outside of my community. I seem to come and go on the regular and upon my return I notice that too many things remain the same. Same jobs, same pubs, same people, same story; so much so that I could only ever seem to stomach the place for a good couple of months before getting itchy feet again. 

But when I arrived home late last year, I was eager to be back to rejoin with my Dead or Deadly Sisters. Dead or deadly is a well-being program offered by Waminda to Indigenous women in the community. This program taught me so much about health and well-being. It taught me how to move my body, how to increase strength and how to grow and encourage others to train and make healthier choices. 

Not only do Waminda offer programs led out by local Indigenous women but they are also committed to training their workers. These women are valued and it shows as they are paid above award wages. Waminda offers a whole bunch of SERVICES to the community and are continually growing every year. Services like this don't just pop up over night. Services like this are rare and I'm so proud of the women who continue to pursue the dreams of their Elders who envisioned a service to help Koori women thrive.

It is something that I am honoured to have witnessed. I've watched women walk through the doors and have been transformed mentally into a whole new vibrant life force. I was so caught up in my passion for this particular program that I failed to notice the metamorphosis of my very own best friend. 

The once well-known 'shy girl' -who asked if I could attend school Koori camp with her because she didn't know anyone else- was standing up in front of a room full of Elders and politicians proudly directing guests to their seats. I don't know how the hell I missed this one.

CJ was far from the quiet Koori girl who would only write me letters with the initials of the boys that she loved inside them. She had outgrown the girl who'd preferred not to walk to the school canteen alone. 

She was exactly what she was meant to be. 

A strong, knowledgable woman of culture and apart of Australia's future. She is driving towards closing the gaps of inequity for her people. She is a special soul sister and I'm thankful I was home to witness this. To Waminda and every woman who is apart of this service, thank you. 

I can't wait to see your achievements in the next 30 years.

Big Love,

Mele Falala

Fiesta

Frida vibes for the Mexican Fiesta party with my sissy CJ. 

So I spent last night hanging out with my home crew celebrating the birthdays of two amazing women. Both are working extremely hard towards establishing their careers (one will lead in managing a substantial women's health organisation and the other will soon graduate with a degree in medicine).

Even though the weekdays are jam packed with meetings, study, deadlines and pressure; the weekends usually consists of an opposite agenda. We catch up. Talk shit. Eat, drink, sing and dance. These moments are special because I'm always away from home so I'm usually looking at these photos from some other state. In another 40 days I'll be jetting off to another country to live for a while so I'm consciously trying to be around and connect with as many friends as possible.

 I'm thankful for these people and I'm fully aware that these moments are special and should not be taken for granted. It's special when you have friends that make you both proud and happy.   Happy birthday my beautiful sisters. Continue to strive and make those changes for your community.

The birthday girls is full fiesta-swing!

Happy Birthday Cleone

Mum is wearing my DIY flower foufou.

We decided to make our own version of a mask after being inspired by the Vogue Masquerade Party pics.

My sister Theresa & I also decided to TWIN it to the party. Napolean eyes and Mac lips with bling embellishments  to stay in theme when we decided to take our mask off.

Cleone's dress was 2 different pieces altered by her nephew Jordan Timbery.
Both Theresa & I wore dresses from Target.

Last weekend one of my closest friends celebrated her 30th birthday. It's really crazy to think that we've been friends for so long and I can't really pin point the moment in time where we stopped being friends and transitioned into family, but it has happened. Every 'big deal' in my life has been shared with her and even though I'm usually off galavanting somewhere, time or distance never seems to dull the friendship. 

We share similar world views and we're both still growing into ourselves, learning about what it means to be a woman; and a strong woman of culture and family. We still giggle about the high school things like finding the right man, and who's doing what around our hometown but that's amongst the sharing of wild hopes, deep dreams and aspirations for the future. I've been blessed with plenty of 'sisters' who now live all over the world. I've shared precious moments with them all but this is something in a league of it's own. 

I remember in kindergarten when our teachers gathered us all in the quadrangle in what I would recall as an attempt to get us all together. I was so scared. I was so shy. There was no one there like me. A swarm of people, but no one there like me. Then amongst a sea of faces I found her. That girl who was a little bit like me, and looked as scared as I felt. That was the first time I met Cleone Wellington and we've been legit ever since. 

Happy Birthday Sis. 

I delight in your accomplishments and success and I look forward to the next 30 years of sisterhood. 

Big Love,

Falala Mele.

Beautiful People: Marlene Longbottom

January 26 marks the celebration of Australia Day. Every year Aussies get out their Australian-flag beer stubbies and generally celebrate with a barbecue breakfast/lunch or at the beach if there is one close by. This holiday marks the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove. 

Some Indigenous Australians find it hard to celebrate this day as it marks the start of what some would call 'Invasion Day'. I think it would be great to change the date of Australia day to mark another occasion in Australian history that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can celebrate wholeheartedly. Perhaps May 27th, to mark the referendum that demonstrated a shift in views and identified that 90% of the voting public supported the inclusion of Australian Aboriginals in the Australian constitution. 

All politics aside, I love Australia. I love that we are a diverse and beautiful country. I love that when people are sick, they are able to receive medical care. I am committed to helping the people of this nation with my God-given talent and abilities and no matter how far I travel, I have yet to find a place that I would trade it for. 

With this in mind, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to Marlene Longbottom. She is the first person to be featured on Beautiful People and she is the perfect representation of the good in my country. 

The Beautiful People category was created to share worthy and inspiring stories and people that you should know about. We often get bombarded with so many images of what we should be and we forget how to walk a brave and honest journey. I hope these people inspire you because they have inspired me. 

Marlene Longbottom is a remarkable Aboriginal woman who has reignited her passion to live with integrity and honor through CrossFit and it's a change and process that has effected every element of her life and the way in which she lives it. Her CrossFit journey commenced in September 2012 and aside from racking up things like a 122 kg dead-lift, she has lost 30 kg and has managed to find herself amongst it all.

The single mother currently has a Masters in Tropical Medicine by research and is working towards her PHD. Marlene works as a researcher with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health in Brisbane and when she's not there, you'll most likely find her training dirty at her local 'Box'. 

I was lucky enough to catch a few moments of time after a Waminda Aboriginal Women's Health well-being exercise class last Thursday. She was back in town for Sorry-Business (the funeral of her Grandmother) but was kind enough to give her time, if it meant she can help someone else. 



Describe a significant person to you in 7 words.
I'll have to describe my Crossfit Coaches Di and Brendan.
Committed, consistent, persistent, role-model, get shit done.

6 words that should be used daily.
Respect, love, persistence, honor, integrity, dignity.

5 words to sum you up at this point in time.
Tired, sore, but I love it.

4 things that everyone should experience.
Crossfit because it will change your life.

3 places you would like to visit.
USA but I will be heading over this coming July to watch the CrossFit Games and to visit a few boxes while I'm there. Rome and Hawaii.

2 goals you want to achieve.
To reach my goal weight (23 kg to go).
Represent my community in CrossFit.

Marlene's hands are looking pretty good now, but when they're torn from lifting, she wears them with pride.

1 piece of advice.

As women, we tend to put our families first and our health suffers. I was in a toxic relationship for a very long time and I was allowing someone to place value and worth on myself. Now I try to honor myself as a woman by knowing my value and what I'm working towards so it does not matter what other people say. 

Aim to be persistently consistent even if it hurts. I set aside at least an hour a day to get up and train and I'm connected to support communities and I encourage others on their journey. People often see the cosmetic changes in my appearance but they don't see the internal changes of my body and mind. I am growing stronger everyday and I'm not letting stress get to me. It's not about only doing CrossFit, but just to find your passion and to work towards it, that way you're living with integrity and working towards being the best person you can be. I ask myself, what legacy am I leaving behind for my son, my and community? What past of history am I changing? 

So what legacy are you leaving behind for your family and the world? 

Marlene is in the process of starting a blog, but you can follow her on instagram @marlenelongbottom

Big Love,

Falala Mele.

endings and beginnings

Endings

My time in Mildura. The people, my job, students, friendships have been authentic and fulfilling. I'm so grateful for the experience.

2013. For many it has been a tough year however I'm always excited at the thought of another year unfolding. A friend recently said "I don't celebrate the new year anymore, I celebrate a new day".

Be thankful & bold and seize each day.

Festive Season. Even though there's still about another week of the festive season, I'm thankful for the abundant amount of family, food and time to just stop and breathe before it all starts churning away again.

My sister is underneath this heap :)

Beginnings

2014

New Goals: Health and well-being + travel and living abroad 

Grounded in my home roots (let's see how I handle this)

New adventure.... I fly out to Hawaii tonight, so Happy New Years in advance.

Whatever your truth, seek it and live it with conviction.

I wish you all the joy, health and happiness you could ever imagine as one year ends and another begins.

Big Love,

Falala Mele.

NAIDOC Celebrations Nowra & Wreck Bay

This week I attended two different NAIDOC day events in the Nowra and Wreck Bay communities.

So you might be thinking What is NAIDOC Week? 
Well it's a week long celebration held to recognise the culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. Many people (even those collectively held under the generalised term 'Australians') know little to nothing about the histories of the indigenous people of Australia.

It is a complex and delicate history and I've yet to find a textbook or school system that extensively and objectively explains and or recounts it. It's history has some similarities to other countries. Someone sets out with a purpose to find new and perhaps uninhabited land. They explore,  then claim the land and set upon changing the land and it's people to suit their needs. Indigenous Australians were misplaced, introduced to foreign diets and diseases. Some were taken from their families and put into homes, others were forbidden to speak in their language and or carry out traditional practices.

In 1965 a bus of Sydney University students travelled through NSW to expose the discrimination and living conditions of Aboriginal people. After this the"Assimilation policy is changed to that of Integration – Aboriginal people entering Australian society on their own terms and preserving as much of their culture as they choose".
It wasn't until 1967 that "91% of Australian voters vote YES in a Referendum to count Aboriginal 
people in the census and give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal people". This history and the fight for rights for Aboriginal people is still very fresh. To see a brief timeline of Indigenous rights and history click HERE.

It is a broad political issue in Australia and one that many choose to forget. The 'gap' between non-indigenous and indigenous Australians in education and health standards is a national shame. Yes, the government is trying to CLOSE THE GAP and while we are often bombarded with negative statistics, attitudes, comments and images about Aboriginal people, it's NAIDOC WEEK that reminds me how strong and vibrant they really are. They are an intricately unique, beautiful, honest and humble people. They are vast and varied. They deal with dual societies and cultures and generally live for moments rather than merchandise. They captivate me and I understand and identify with them because they became my culture when I was raised away from my own. They are not perfect nor without fault, because none of us are.

I wandered around both celebrations soaking up the beauty. I greeted all the Aunties and Uncles and people that I haven't seen in a while. I hugged my friends and were astounded by their growing tribe of beautiful babies. This place is alive and buzzing with life. Young people getting up and fearlessly telling stories through lyrics and music. Organisations reaching out and connecting. This is a proud and growing community of mine.

Big Love,

Falala Mele