After purchasing an artwork by Jimmy Pompey, from the Iwantja Arts Centre, Richard and Cheryl Kuipers became aware of health issues which resulting in Mr Pompey being unable to attend his own sold-out show. This led Richard and Cheryl to learn more about the issue of kidney disease in Indigenous communities and the challenges in regards to accessing health services within remote Australian communities.
Richard become aware of fundraising efforts on behalf of Purple House, which provides dialysis services to remote Australia, including the community of Indulkana. Richard and Cheryl gladly supported this important work with a donation on behalf of the Indulkana community.
It is a sobering statistic that remote Indigenous people in Central Australia are up to 30 times more likely to suffer from kidney disease than the rest of the nation. Families often must move off their country and travel to Alice Springs or Darwin for dialysis treatment. Communities are often left without elder leadership, families are sometimes broken up and as a result, culture is weakened.
Purple House is an innovative Indigenous-owned and run health service operating from its base in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Now operating over eighteen (18) remote clinics and a mobile dialysis unit called the Purple Truck, Purple House gets patients back home quickly so that families and culture can remain strong.
Purple House welcomes inquires and donates to help fund the important work they are doing to ensure that Indigenous Australian in remote regions have access to quality health care, remain connected to their communities and united with their families.
Purple House and the Purple Truck services the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. To find out more about APY Lands, click on the button below.
