Melora Noah from the Komet tribe of Mer Island in the Torres Strait, is passionate about remote Indigenous education. As the P&C Association President of Tagai College, Melora says “We must always ask ourselves why do we educate our children? For me it’s breaking the welfare cycle, teaching my kids something for something, not something for nothing. Through my son Sim, the first Torres Strait Islander on the Indigenous Education program at The Scots College in Sydney, I have come to realise that the corporate arm of Australia, and non-Indigenous individuals and families are often there ready to help us. Doors that I found to be traditionally deadlocked to me and my children, open with great ease through education. But we too must be willing to walk through those doors.”

Melora also helps the women in her community. She says “The greatest armour a Meriam woman can put on to face the challenges of today is to be educated. With education comes knowledge; with knowledge comes power; power to speak and to be heard. MABO won, proving that our age old Meriam society and structure is very much alive in this day and age, and that is why we, the Women of MABO must be able to master the art of living in both worlds.”