You're not allowed to let anyone pick up your tissue, because they'll get germs off you.
Wash my hands.
We learned about hygiene,
and how germs, the really bad ones, can kill you.
Brush my teeth,
and soap my body.
Um, carrots.
Carrots.
Apples.
Bananas.
It keeps us fit, and it also makes us stronger.
Chips, lollies and chocolate.
And bubble-gum.
In the Dunghutti language, Dhalayi means child or young.
And here in Kempsey, the Dhalayi doctors program has been training students in primary health care since 2013.
OK, block one side, and blow three times, go.
Dhalayi Doctors pledge.
With the guidance of my elders.
Dhalayi Doctors is part of a broader Indigenous-led program that’s run in schools across the country.
More than 400 students will graduate this year.
What happens when those germs if they get into your body. What are some of the things could happen?
Kill you!
No, not necessarily. Some can kill you, some are really bad.
Yeah, you get sick!
Where would you get sick?
In a hospital.
No, but on you.
The young doctors program is about preparing young ambassadors for health.
Hygiene. The aim of hygiene is teaching our kids about keeping clean, keeping germs away.
We've been trying to do very practical things, that the kids can take home.
So we've done medication like, tablets, liquids, bush medicine, creams and inhalers. Inhalers.
What do I use this for?
Teeth!
I'm everywhere. I'm Mr. Germ.
This age group seems to be the, the age that they are sponges and they suck up information a lot.
Can you see the germs now?
Nup.
See the stuff you used when you was going out to wash your hands at the sink?
That gets rid of this guy, kills him slowly.
I'm the Germinator which gets rid of Mr Germ.
it just gives the kids a whole different platform you know, to learn something different.
Plus we get a kick out of it, being dressed up too.
We get to be big kids.
It's the kind of program all the principals are trying to get because the impact for the kids, it's quite pronounced, and it goes beyond what's in the school.
A lot of those messages that happen in that program are taken outside the gate as well.
What did you do with the Dhalayi Doctors today?
Wiping hands, and healthy food.
We have 75% of our students are from indigenous backgrounds.
We know the health outcomes for aboriginal communities are quite different than what they are for the wider community.
It's fantastic to have such an engaging program that focuses on health outcomes for our students.
I want you all to do a race to the fence. Ready...
Set...
Go!
My son comes home all the time and says that he's tried new things at school.
Some things that I wouldn't give him at home, and I love it, It’s fantastic to have that extra support at school.
Kempsey, when I was growing up, had two missions and a reserve. One was at Burnt Bridge, one was at Melbrook,
and the other one that where I come from originally, from Green Hill.
At the Dunghutti Elder’s Council, Uncle Bob Mumbler has seen how poor health affects the futures of young people.
Oral health is one.
Glue ears: kids are not listening because they've been deaf.
Those issues are important for the kids' performance.
Years ago, yeah, that was very strong here in Kempsey.
Where I could go out in the bush and grab a stinging nettle and rub it on for my leg, or a kunjibol leaf and but it on my boil
All our elders are all scattered, they’re in homes and not out on the missions, or in the house next door to us anymore.
What little we do know is, my generation, I don't think the next generation knows as much about that because it's just gone.
But the Young Doctors program uses traditional and modern health approaches to tackle problems specific to a school’s community.
A school up river had a problem with obesity, eating too much.
So we done a whole session on what a child your age, amount of food they should eat and what our plate should look like.
There was a head lice situation at one school, and we made up a bush medicine and it went home in little packs.
In the future those kids are going to come up, and walk through the door as professionals.
I'm not going to be around, I'm not the Pyramids.
Around forever.
We are Dhalayi Doctors and we learn so many things.
From the elders, and the good food, and everything in between.
We hear from the elders and listen to their stories too, but most of all we love the fact that we can help you.