By Adam Brockman, Eastern Suburbs Reporter
LIFE has changed for 14 students from the remote Aboriginal community of Balgo, leaving their traditional desert community for the classrooms of La Salle College in Middle Swan. Adam Brockman reports on the program.
“It's like taking somebody from Earth and dropping them on Mars – everything’s different,” Aboriginal student coordinator Darren Perrett said.
Having worked with the students at Luurnpar Catholic College in Balgo, Darren has seen their transition from the beginning.
“They come from a place where there’s about 450 people, to a school where there’s 1400 people. There are a lot of challenges for them – mainly because their literacy and numeracy aren’t up to scratch,” he said.
“It takes a while to settle in but they make friends quickly and get involved in school activities. They had only been here for two days and they were in the pool swimming against everyone else.
“Once they get here they seem to instantly snap into mainstream schooling. They’re always wearing a uniform beautifully, they’re trying their hardest and going to classes – so it’s been far more impressive than I’d imagined.”
“I think they bring a lot of experiences that students here wouldn’t get. They share their traditional stories which are ingrained in their way of life in Balgo.”
Balgo Hills is a remote Aboriginal community eleven hours drive west of Alice Springs, in WA’s Kimberley region.
The Luurnpa Link program was formed between the colleges to provide cultural experiences and help students with literacy and numeracy skills.
Most of the children at Luurnpar Catholic College, run by catholic religious order The De La Salle Brothers, come from non-English speaking backgrounds and have limited education.
Beginning last year with six students, known as the “Balgo boys”, the program has increased to 14 students from Years 8 to 11, who live at Swanleigh Residential College.
La Salle College vice principal Rino Randazzi said the college aimed to integrate the students in college life, and employed specialist teachers to run a literacy and numeracy program, designed to help them graduate high school.
“It’s a program that is resource intensive but we can certainly see benefits.
“What we’ve found from last year to this year’s intake is that the news is spreading in Balgo – students are nominating to come to Perth.”
Year 9 student Francis Watson has returned for his second year at La Salle and said he was enjoying maths and writing.
“I played football for Midvale Tigers and La Salle – there’s grass in Perth but in Balgo we just play on dirt,” he said.
Fellow Year 9 student William Farrer has just begun his first year and said being around new people and making friends were his favourite part of the experience.
“I’m doing swimming, football, basketball and tennis – we didn’t have those kinds of things in Balgo. I’m going to study to be in the police and then go back to Balgo,” William said.