Lillian Inkamala

Health Worker's Story

My name is Lillian Inkamala. I come from Imanpa. I have lived here for many years.

My father comes from Papunya and he is married to my mother, she's from Angus Downs Station, which is part of Imanpa community. They were living at Angus Down and my father was working as a stockman at the Angus Downs Station. He met and married my mother. They had one boy, my brother David Inkamala, and me.

I'm married to Robert Mumu and we have four children, two boys and two girls. Their names are Kathy, Terry, Carol and Benjamin. My little granddaughter's name is Cynthia.

I was working in the clinic from 1994 to 1999. Then I finished and I started working at the primary school in 2001 and 2002, as Anangu Education Worker. Then I finished work at the school and started working in 2003 back at the clinic.

I like working at the clinic because I like to help when sick people come and ask, "help I'm sick". Especially women's problem. I like to help women when they are having a baby. Younger girls need help when they have their first baby. When my daughter had her first baby, I went with her to Alice Springs hospital. I stayed with her and showed her how to start breastfeeding and showed her how to wash the baby in the bath and how to change the nappies.

Some of the people here are healthy and some are sniffing petrol. Healthy people can't help the sniffer because the sniffer is sniffing all his life. Like my cousin. We couldn't stop it because once he started he got brain damage inside his head.

We tried to take him away, to do different things, like sports weekend in different communities. When he was away he stopped but when he comes back to here then he starts again. There are five people here sniffing petrol all the time. All day, all night. People can't sleep because all night young people are out on the street, making noise and being silly. What can we do to stop the younger people from sniffing petrol?