Mavis Kerinaiua lives and works in Wurrumiyanga and now owns the house where she lived as a child with her mother.
In 2007 the first Township Lease on Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory was signed by the Tiwi Land Trust and the Australian Government. One of the benefits of this historic event is that Traditional Owners and local residents are able to purchase a house through a Home Ownership Sublease.
Mavis bought her house in 2010 with a loan from Indigenous Business Australia after completing money management and Home Ownership support training. The training was provided by the Tiwi Islands Training and Education Board, a local Aboriginal corporation. The loan allowed her to buy the existing house, undertake some renovations and to build a separate granny flat. Mavis now lives in the flat while the main house is used by other members of her family.