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If you were on TikTok or Facebook in 2020 you might have got to know Captain Sanitiser, the superhero who spread COVID-19 safety messages for the Wadeye community. And now the Captain is taking it on the road with his group of trusty sidekicks, with a mammoth bike ride of almost 6,000 kilometres for another great cause: raising awareness and funds for our partners, Thamarrurr Youth Indigenous Corporation (TYIC).
TYIC is an Indigenous-owned and -governed corporation that is dedicated to identifying and empowering the youth of the Wadeye region to become the leaders of the future, able to walk strong in both worlds. Medibank supports this vision through our strong community partnership with TYIC.
“[The aim of TYIC is] empowering and encouraging young people take control of their lives and in particular their health and their futures,” says Dallas Mugarra, the media officer for TYIC and Captain Sanitiser’s alter ego. “Too many people being controlled by welfare system and other people without knowing what their choices are”.
Powering the bike ride is the need to raise awareness of this goal and health issues that face Indigenous youth, such as alcohol, healthy eating and respect, and also raise much-needed funds for TYIC. Starting at Bright in Victoria on May 23, the Captain and his superhero crew will motoring their way to the Barunga Festival in Arnhem Land – a staggering 5,731km in just 2 ½ weeks!
Riding along with the Captain are Leon Kinthari and Justin Crawley, the CEO of TYIC. Leon is a house parent at TYIC and has been involved as a director and staff member in various roles since its very beginning, and has had three of his children go through the program. Benedict Mullumbuk, who has his own online cooking show called “Cooking with Benny”, will be in charge of the catering.
Along the way, they will visit and speak to 8-10 groups of Traditional Owners and their wider communities. Supporting them will be crew from TYIC but more importantly health superheroes, and their message will be clear: it’s time we empower young Indigenous people to stand up for themselves, their own lives and their own health.
Captain Sanitiser on the road for Indigenous youth
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Although the trip promises to be a real adventure for these motorbike lovers, it’s about something much more important.
“It means a way to enjoy something I love and at same time showing the way for young people to follow for the future. It’s like cutting a track in the bush and people will follow that track,” Dallas says.
The origins of TYIC go back to 2008, when a key group of Elders from the Thamarrurr region came together to voice their concerns over what they saw as a perpetual cycle of welfare dependency in the community. To break this cycle, the Elders envisioned a world where Indigenous youth were empowered to walk proudly in two worlds and, given the tools to forge their own path, advocate strongly for themselves and their culture.
TYIC now runs programs in the remote community of Wadeye in the Northern Territory and Bright, North East Victoria. The youth of the Thamarrurr region, described by TYIC as “our own directors”, bravely choose to move a massive 5000km away from home to take part in the Bright exchange program. This program embeds culture and language into the training while providing youth leaders with the opportunity go to school, develop job readiness skills, and pursue further education.
TYIC needs your support! Follow the Captain, his health superheroes and support crew on social media and share the ride updates with your friends and family. To support the ride and keep TYIC’s important work going strong, please donate today.
Captain's Ride donation page
Follow the ride on Facebook
Follow the ride on Instagram
Medibank is committed to maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations to support positive outcomes. Medibank supports our community partner TYIC as they embark on The Captain’s Ride. Click here to learn more about our Reconciliation Action Plan commitments.
