Greetings from Nungalinya!

It is the start of the cool ‘Dry’ season as I write to you. In fact, Darwin non-Indigenous people only refer to three seasons, the ‘Wet’, the ‘Dry’ and the hyper-humidity of the ‘Build-Up’. Of course, Indigenous people have a much more finely grained system and this time of year is known by many names: Yekke (Kunwinjku), Kumunupunari (Tiwi) and Dhärratharra (Yolŋu) to name just one each from our Anglican, Catholic and Uniting areas! But whatever the ‘season’, there are some things that remain constant. As my mother used to say- ‘There are only three certainties in life; death, taxes and piles of washing each day!’

As you may know, at Nungalinya we have around three hundred (300) students come to College each year, coming in to study for various, overlapping two to four week intensive blocks. All students live on site, sharing afternoon and evening activities, all meals and accommodation facilities. In semester two this year, there will regularly be six (6) classes at Nungalinya, which amounts to around ninety (90) students living together at College at any given time. Over the last five (5) years, we have been so thankful to have been able to knock down some of our old, asbestos constructed units and replace them with new, tropical-style accommodation.But now, it is time to consider the needs of our laundry! Currently, the laundry is simply a converted space (our last asbestos unit) and our dedicated residential team work tirelessly to ensure all the needs of cleaning and bedding are accomplished. But this old, worn-out unit needs to be demolished as it is becoming a safety concern, and our growth in courses and students means a new laundry is a must!

Will you please partner with us in this important ministry of the College?

It may seem strange to call a new laundry a ‘ministry’- but it certainly is! Firstly, all service is ministry and when we look to the early church, very practical ways of love and caring were very important to growth.In the Nungalinya context especially, students talk over and over about three major reasons they love to come to the College: to grow in their faith, to fellowship with brothers and sisters from different clans and Languages, and, crucially, to experience a time of refreshment and renewal to strengthen them to head back home to serve God and their own people in their home communities. It is this last aspect of refreshment and renewal where the importance of our safe, peaceful and culturally appropriate residential facility is vital. A new laundry to meet these needs is therefore, an important ministry in its own right.

It has been a pleasure to, once again, work with Incidental Architecture, headed up by Christian brothers and sisters in the design of our new laundry. They worked with us extensively on the designs and implementation of our recent accommodation upgrades, and you can read of this partnership here:  https://bit.ly/3VHGUQM

If you would like to be part of this next phase in our journey and ministry, we would be very thankful. None of our government funding can be saved from year to year for capital works, and so for any new ventures such as this, we must raise the funds.

Will you please partner with us in this important ministry of the College?

Yours in Christ,

Ben van Gelderen
Principal
Nungalinya College

Donate