Holistic community health enterprise, Western Desert, has been announced the winner of the inaugural Ethical Enterprise Award 2013.
At a national awards ceremony held in Melbourne on Friday night, the indigenous organisation was recognised and celebrated for being Australia’s most inspirational enterprise for the positive social and economic impact they have had through their ethical practices.
The judges said Western Desert, also known as the Purple House, exemplified the benefits of tackling a major health issue at a community level.
The not-for-profit, non-Government Indigenous-governed health organisation, offers a holistic model of care and support for people needing renal dialysis who would otherwise be forced to leave their communities to access treatment in Alice Springs.
“We offer primary health care, social support such as patient advocacy, housing assistance, dialysis education and wellbeing activities, as well as assisting with social issues associated with kidney disease, across more than twenty remote Central Australian communities,” Christy van der Heyden from Western Desert said.
“Our enterprise not only benefits the wider communities with our products, services and workshops but also generates employment for Indigenous people by self determining how cultural and intellectual knowledge is used, ” van der Heyden added.
Karel Boele, Ethical Enterprise Award Judge and Director of EcoDirectory said the organisation was recognised for the quality of its sustainable business model, and the fact it strives to deliver a positive social and economic impact.
An initiative of Moral Fairground, a Victorian-based social enterprise, and Australian Ethical, the Ethical Enterprise Award was created to raise awareness of the importance of socially and environmentally conscious leadership and ethically orientated business.
