In remote areas of Central Australia, kids have to travel some 500km to their closest high school
"Our home has no high school near us"
In the remote Watarrka region of central Australia, kids have to travel some 500km to their closest high school.
In this day and age, you would think every Australian child has access to education. This is a sad misconception. Unfortunately indigenous kids are not so lucky.
Here’s the problem
In remote areas, kids have to travel some 500km to their closest high school.
The parents and guardians of children in the Watarrka region sending their children to secondary school have very few options.
They are:
If a child goes to high school, the whole family is affected. It generally means they no longer live on the land as they move to the closest town. In doing so, indigenous families find it hard to adjust as they lose their way of life. In most cases, it is just too hard and students don't stay at school.
We need to stop this cycle.
Community Elders believe their children feel more able to learn and are happiest being educated "on country", rather than being sent away at a young age to a different environment that they are not so comfortable in, and where they struggle to succeed.
If indigenous students can stay "on country" with family and retain culture, they are much more likely to become successful learners.
Every child counts, and every child deserves the best opportunity to be educated.
Completing secondary school means Aboriginal students can make choices about their lives and have the opportunity for a more positive future.
We need a new multi-purpose building at Watarrka Primary School so older students can continue in the school system.
The Northern Territory Education Department has granted Watarrka Primary School approval to teach students up to Year 10. The Watarrka Foundation's dream is to build a new secondary school on country in the near future, but in the mean time we want to facilitate continued learning of older students by constructing a multi-purpose building within the school.
The school currently has only one classroom and desperately needs the new $400,000 building. The Foundation plans to commence construction in November 2017 and complete the building by 1 February 2018. It will provide an immediate solution to children currently at the Watarrka Primary School who will have to move to a secondary school in the near future. The building includes a classroom, computer room, a fully equipped kitchen and an accommodation unit.
We only have a small window of opportunity before the weather gets too hot for any building to occur. We need to start building this classroom now, ready for the start of term in 2018.
Propose Building Project
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