| Information: | E-Mail: gayle@baiame.bu.aust.com |
| Gayle Heron | 03) 9563 0078 |
| Jo Christopoulos | 03) 9533 4064 |
| Chris Kamp | 03) 9583 8125 |
The Baiame Foundation is a non-profit organisation designed to address a diversity of needs of Aboriginal communities that are currently untended. As these demands are pressing, it has fallen onto the private sector and individuals to take action.
The Foundation is comprised of a group of volunteers who manage and allocate funds to various organisations and the development of projects. These projects will be concerned with providing cultural, educational, and spiritual assistance, with close consultation with recognised elders.
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The Launch of the Baiame Foundation was held on 21 March 2000 (The International Day for Elimination of Racism) at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. |
Arising from the philosophy of the companyBaiame, a network marketing company that creates natural body care products with native flora , it was felt necessary to return a portion of the profits to the indigenous people who have held the ancient wisdom of this land, and maintained its physical and spiritual well-being, over the centuries.
A natural consequence of recognising how the earth sustains all life is the understanding of our responsibilities towards earth and spirit, which involve ensuring its survival. This preserves the longevity and health of our relationship to the world and ourselves. The Aboriginal people have long recognised this relationship and have fulfilled their role in sustaining their responsibility in the physical and spiritual custodianship of their land. We are presently reaping the benefits of this physical and spiritual work they carried out over the centuries.
With this respect and appreciation, we feel it essential to return a portion of our gifts to the Aboriginal people. We also recognise the gravity of destruction done to the land and its inhabitants since white occupation, and the magnitude of issues that continue to plague us. It is our responsibility to assist in this healing, rather than generate further destruction.
As with any healing, it is essential to realise that the individual concerned will always know more about themselves than anyone else, and they alone are capable of healing themselves. Applying this principle to this larger social healing process, we must trust the Aboriginal people with their own healing, as they are truly the ones that heal themselves. All we can do is support this process as much as possible and work on our own healing as well.