Halls Creek Immersion
Hot days, clear skies, red dirt, huge boab trees and the beauty of WA's north was soon to be discovered by the six fortunate girls on the 2017 Halls Creek/Kununurra Immersion.
A jam-packed intensive week which saw us in the remote outback of the Kimberley from 13 - 20 August. Amongst the sightseeing of old country towns, cruising on Lake Argyle, swimming in picturesque gorges, hiking to see crocodiles, the highlight of everyone's trip was the visit to the beautiful Warlawurru Catholic School in Halls Creek. This was a chance to take time to reflect about our own personal daily lives and to learn about the lives of some of the Indigenous children in the Kimberley region. We were fortunate to spend time with the Indigenous children at Warlawurru for just 3 days but it will forever be one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. From assisting with various jobs around the school in preparation for their 30thbirthday celebration open day, helping the teachers and children with class activities, sharing our knowledge with the children and playing footy, hopscotch, running races or skipping with the children during lunchtime, we were always kept busy with the energy of the children.
We saw first-hand some of the daily challenges the children face and how these situations impact on their wellbeing. Daily bus trips to pick up students enabled us to see witness the living conditions of people in this community. Despite rough conditions, there was a strong connection between the people of the community, developing the notion of strong indigenous culture, people and respect. Some of the myths depicted in the media concerning aboriginal lives were dispelled by the wonderful Catherine Engelke and Sister Alma. Both provided wonderful insight into the community and provided tips and awareness of what we will be dealing with. We have all learnt from these truly resilient children. It was an extremely rewarding personal experience. The faces, the smiles, the love and the warmth we shared with the children from the Lundja/Red Hill community have left a lasting impression with us, one which we will cherish forever. This was an experience enabling us to practise first-hand how Ionians can implement social Justice in the community.
We owe a massive thank you to the children of Warlawurra, Mr Girando, Miss Sandover, Miss Moore and Mr Vlahov. Thank you for preparing and helping us throughout this amazing experience; we could not have done it without you.
Genavieve McGillivray (10 Columba) and Sophia Spadanuda (10 Moynihan)