Staff Spotlight: Alena Birch

28 September 2016

Alena is a Kimberley girl, born in Kununurra. She is a descendant of the Balangari and Bunuba peoples and also has Afghan heritage, like many Aboriginal people in the region.

Alena is an Education Advocate in Wunan’s Parents and Community Engagement Program (PaCE), which operates out of ‘the blue house’ on the grounds of Kununurra District High School. In this role Alena supports parents and caregivers to engage in their child’s education.

“I am very passionate about working in this job. I enjoy meeting people and going out to community to promote the PaCE program. It’s wonderful being able to play a role in empowering parents to take part in their child’s education and make a change in their lifestyles,” Alena says.

Alena says the greatest challenge she has faced in her life so far is becoming a sole parent of six children, ranging in age from 28 to 11 years, and then re-entering the workforce.

In the future, she would like to return to study and become an advocate for her people, particularly in relation to suicide prevention in the Kimberley region.

Topic: Wunan