An historic partnership has been realised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Beananging Kwuurt Institute (BKI), the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, WA Regional Committee (UAICC WA) and the West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation (WASGAC), trading as Yokai: Healing our Spirit, to support initiatives relating to truth, justice and healing at the former site of the Sister Kate’s Children’s home in Queens Park. The partnership was announced in a statement by WASGAC on 7 March 2025.
An article by Wendy Hendry originally published in the April 2025 edition of Revive magazine.
Beananging Kwuurt Institute (BKI), established in 2007, arose from a vision of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, WA Regional Committee, led by the late Rev Sealin Garlett, for a social and community service agency assisting vulnerable people, and especially Aboriginal people from its base on the former site of Sister Kate’s Home. The establishment of BKI was a reflection of the Uniting Church in Australia’s Covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress. The Uniting Church in Australia has been in Covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress since July 1994.
However, over the years BKI experienced some challenges. Despite significant efforts over a long period of time to achieve the vision of BKI, in May 2024 the Uniting Church in WA made the difficult decision, at the request of Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, to close BKI in its current form. After extensive discussions the volunteer BKI Board was suspended, with operations at the site ceasing in December 2024.
In a statement by UAICC WA in December last year, WA Congress said,
“We are not powerful or perfect, but we are trying to be faithful to the calling God has on our lives to serve our community and support those in need, and to do so in a way that honours our Culture and our Old People. This is why our predecessors set up Beananging Kwuurt Institute (BKI) and ran it for many years – to be an Indigenous led and run place of support and healing for our people. This remains our vision and we are committed to seeing BKI restored to its full potential. We know, deep in our spirit, the importance of this place. It is a special place culturally. It is also a site of significance to many Stolen Generations survivors and their families as it used to be Sister Kate’s where so many of our kids were taken.”
They then spoke of their lament at the more recent struggles at BKI and of their intention for the site which is of significance to so many people:
“We have a vision for BKI to once again become a place of healing and hope.”
In the months to follow, a new Board has been appointed for BKI, with Rev Robert Jetta, who is currently the Chair of UAICC WA, appointed as Chairperson of BKI.
The new partnership with BKI, UAICC WA and WASGAC/Yokai will enable the vision of BKI, founded by the late Rev Sealin Garlett in 2007, to continue.
Rev Robert Jetta, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, along with Dr Jim Morrison, Chair of WASGAC, in early March saying, “This is a special moment for BKI as this will enable the long-awaited vision of the late Rev Sealin Garlett, who founded BKI, to be put into place, for BKI to partner with Yokai to enable this site to provide a range of services for Stolen Generations Survivors and their families and for all Aboriginal families who need support”.
At the time of writing, plans arising from the partnership were still evolving.
At a special meeting of the Synod of Western Australia on 22 March decisions were supported in relation to the newly appointed Board of BKI. At the meeting Uniting Church WA Moderator, Rev Dr Ian Tozer, offered a formal apology to Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, WA Regional Committee about recent events related to WA Congress and BKI in the spirit of the Covenant. He said:
“As Christians, we are not immune to struggle with how to respond to complex situations. So, we come to you members of Congress WA; we confess our shortcomings, we regret the ways our actions have knowingly or unknowingly failed you, and we ask for your grace and forgiveness.
We ask that together we can learn from these experiences.
We commit to the Covenant we have made, and we pray that, through the grace of God, even as we stumble or make wrong turns, we will come back together and journey alongside each other as First and Second Peoples.”
The media statement from WASGAC can be found on the Yokai website – https://yokai.com.au/partnership-at-sister-kates- children-home/
On our website you can also find the statement from UAICC WA and the Apology to Congress from the Moderator.
To follow progress of this partnership you might like to follow Yokai Healing our Spirit or Beananging Kwuurt Institute on Facebook.
