It is the second year that SWS has been involved in the program which was initiated in 2007 by Hobsons Bay City Council. The program is aimed at engaging with young people aged 16 - 25 years who have migrated to Australia in the last five years, particularly those from refugee backgrounds and providing them with the opportunity to form friendships, gain better understanding of services, develop leadership, learn new skills and get more involved in their local community.
The program officially kicked off with a 4-day camp at Lady Northcote Recreational Camp in Rowsley from 29th March - 1st April and will continue to the end of July. The Camp is an integral part of the program with the participants coming together through leadership training, high challenge and team building activities.
The Camp began with participants and leaders being divided into four teams - the Blues Brothers, Hurricane, Survivors and Pink Ladies - and our collective competitive streaks quickly shone through. The Hurricane won the first challenge of ‘Best Team Song’ which was worthy of an ARIA, the Blues Brothers triumphed in the Trivia Night (which included many very physical challenges!), the Pink Ladies won the group presentation for their Werribee Zoo idea but it was the Survivors who true to their name conquered all in the end to take out Scavenger Hunt on the last day which counted for the 90% of the points.
All the participants (and workers) overcame their fears to conquer the giant swing, flying fox, rafting and canoeing (which involved numerous ‘accidental’ capsizing into the dam). The Camp built many positive friendships between the young people, leaders and agencies as we all shared and learnt about each other’s cultures throughout the four days.
Fourteen young people from 6 different cultural backgrounds (Karen, Ethiopian, Ugandan, Sudanese, Congolese and Malaysian) are participating in the program in 2010. The group includes three graduates of last year’s program who are re-engaged as youth leaders to the new group. The leaders have assisted in the recruitment, organisation and planning of the the 2010 program, utilising the leadership skills they learnt as participants last year.
The group will now participate in five workshops throughout the upcoming months including a Hobsons Bay Sports Tour on 24th April, Police Academy Tour, Race around Hobsons Bay, Werribee Zoo visit and a City Experience.
