Minum Barreng joined with the Melbourne Football Club (MFC) to visit Nyirripi community in early February 2026 to promote healthy living including the sustained elimination of trachoma.

Nyirripi is a remote Aboriginal community approximately 400 km north west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). The community has a strong connection to Australian Football League (AFL) and to the Melbourne Demons. It was good to see Nyirripi keeping up with the hygiene practices to prevent trachoma in their community.

Milpa the Goanna visited the community on 7 February and was warmly welcomed with lots of smiles at a Saturday event held at the Nyirripi Community School.

MFC was represented by current players Kozzy Pickett, Ricky Mentha, Latrelle Pickett and Saraid Taylor (AFLW) along with Matthew Whelan (former MFC player and now Indigenous Projects Officer). The MFC crew flew in by small aircraft (approx. one hour flying) while Minum Barreng travelled by road, including the final 200 km on dirt roads (approx. 6 hours driving).

The community activities were very successful and well attended, with approximately 80 people taking part in a BBQ, footy clinic and yarns about everyday healthy hygiene practices that keep eyes and bodies healthy. We filmed some new Community Service Announcements with the players highlighting key eye health promotion messages. Standing nearby was a group of young ones watching every move and doing their best to stay as quiet as possible. Back at the basketball court, the music was blaring from the loudspeaker and dancing and shooting hoops was entertaining the crowd.

MFC are also in discussion with the community about ongoing support for their local footy programs. The Nyirripi team plays in red and blue (like MFC) and are proudly known as the Nyirripi Demons. The community was on a high-note after the visit thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to interact with the players and see Milpa.

The weather impacted the community and our visit in several ways. The Community mail plane was unable to arrive on the Friday as planned due to storms. The food truck made it to the community (just) and restocked the store, only to get held up by flooding on the way back. Minum Barreng also enjoyed a bit of an outback adventure on the drive back to Mparntwe. After navigating through very wet conditions on the dirt roads, flooding along the Tanami road cut the team off from Alice Springs and they spent two additional days in Yuendumu.

Our special thanks to the Nyirripi community, MFC, Clarice O’Leary (Nyirripi School), Zane and Sandy from the store and Steve from Central Desert Regional Council for their support and to Jenny Thicthener (Yuendumu Health Clinic – who arranged accommodation for Minum Barreng staff in Yuendumu).