Amelia Tuiono, who last week was appointed GEGAC’s new Social and Emotional Wellbeing Team Leader.
It means a lot to us here at GEGAC to have a number of young Aboriginal staff working with us now that are part of a proud family lineage, the children and grandchildren of the Elders that built GEGAC back in the 1960s and 70s.
It demonstrates that our history is never far away. It is not an abstract concept we have to remind ourselves of, but a living and breathing part of the organisation, part of the life force that sustains and regenerates us.
For Amelia Tuiono, returning to GEGAC as a staff member in 2024 was about more than just a job change.
As the granddaughter of foundational Elders Robert “Jumbo” and Marion Pearce, for Amelia GEGAC has always been much more than a health service, or a place of employment.
“GEGAC has always been a part of my life,” she says. “It has always felt like home.”
Like many who now work at GEGAC, her earliest childhood memories are set in the hallways and outside spaces of this place, playing around the feet of the Aunties and Uncles who worked here back in the day.
“One of my first memories was of being in the Boorai building, in daycare, and walking down the hallway to where the babies were, and seeing my siblings there,” she says with a smile. “Those are good memories.”
At 16 Amelia left Bairnsdale, where she was born and raised, to move to Sydney with her parents and siblings.
At that stage she was still unsure of what she wanted to do after school, career-wise (“I was pretty much just into my sport at that time”), but after taking on a receptionist role at the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern she began to understand the powerful work that Aboriginal health organisations do for mob all over Australia.
“A lot of our mental health clients, or people struggling with alcohol and drugs, would come through the reception area,” Amelia remembers. “And so you would meet them when they were first presenting and then again at the end of their journey. To be able to stay connected to them and see them as they progressed, that really impressed on me the value of the service we were providing.”
During that time Amelia did some education, upskilling with a Cert IV and then a Diploma in Business. She also started a family of her own.
After 13 years being away, the time felt right to return home and reconnect with GEGAC, the legacy of her grandparents, wanting better outcomes for our people in all aspects.
When she talks about them, you can see that it is an emotional experience for her.
“To now be a part of that legacy that my grandparents helped create, it does mean a lot to me,” she says, her eyes welling up. “To be able to contribute to that, to be a part of keeping GEGAC going and keeping that legacy alive, it’s special.”
Last week Amelia was appointed Team Leader of GEGAC’s newly-formed Social and Emotional Wellbeing team.
GEGAC is always keen to provide career opportunities for Aboriginal people that are passionate about helping this community.
To learn more, visit our Careers page at gegac.org.au/Careers