Fourteen Indigenous youths attended an inspirational camp last week, one of a year-long series of activities run by Anglicare Victoria’s Youth Leadership Academy.
The Indigenous Leadership Academy aims to encourage and inspire young Indigenous people to make good decisions about their ongoing health and wellness; set personal goals; continue to engage with education and undertake further study or training; and become leaders in their communities.
We heard from the Indigenous Leadership Academy’s young people about their experience over the week long camp:
Day one – Monday October 24th
We have arrived in Sydney and are waiting for our flight to Darwin. We’re all really excited for the week ahead and can’t wait to meet new people, learn new skills such as fishing and also to build our resilience. We’re also looking forward to taking part in cultural awareness sessions and dinner with inspirational leaders as well as a visit to Litchfield National Park in Darwin.
We arrived in Darwin and are staying at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre (MLLLC.) The MLLLC was designed to harness the power of AFL football in the Northern Territory to give young Indigenous Territorians the same opportunities as their non-Indigenous peers.
Day two – Tuesday October 25th
This afternoon we had a cultural session with the Essendon Football Club and Leanne from The Long Walk. Leanne spoke about a program they have called ‘Walk the Talk.’ This program was created to give school aged youth an understanding of Aboriginal history and the meaning behind The Long Walk. This session inspired us to speak more about our Aboriginal heritage with people back home.
Later in the evening wear enjoyed a roast dinner with the Essendon Football Club. Listening to the football players’ talk about their lives and how they never gave up on their dreams has inspired us to never give up on our own dreams and aspirations.
Day three – Wednesday October 26th
We spent the morning going fishing. For many of us, this was our first time fishing and everyone was really excited to try and catch a fish. Because we were split between two boats, we decided to make a competition to see which boat would catch the most fish. Boat A caught 25 fish and Boat B caught 24 fish. We were all so surprised by how close the competition was. It felt really good for many of us to catch our first fish and receive encouragement from everyone.
Later that night, we attended a dinner at the Darwin museum, where everyone spoke about their organisation. One of BDAC’s leaders, Darcy spoke about his path and the struggle he has faced. He spoke of how his school didn’t provide any information about his Indigenous culture and because of this, he decided to take action and go into schools to talk to the Indigenous students about their culture.
After the dinner, we heard from an inspiring keynote speaker from Headspace, Kim Mulholland, who spoke about the struggles he has faced and how he overcame them, as well as about how he accepts all the choices he made both good and bad because they gave him resilience and made him the person he is today.
Day four – Thursday October 27th
Today we went out to the Batchelor Holiday Park where we were taught different tennis skills and techniques. The sessions were run by the Tennis Australia youth and the Australian Nation tennis coach Ian Goolagong. The children and the young leaders worked really well together and engaged really well with the younger students, helping them with their Tennis techniques and getting to know the students.
Day five – Friday October 28th
On our last day in Darwin we started off the morning at Litchfield national park. Our first stop there was Florence Falls followed by swimming and lunch. We then went to Wangi falls before continuing back to Darwin city.
During the afternoon, we decided to have a group chat before heading out for our last dinner together.
What we didn’t know was that David from Anglicare Victoria had been in contact with Kim from Headspace. Kim wanted to catch up with everyone one more time after the dinner at Darwin Museum, because he was asked a question by one of the young leaders and on looking back, he felt he could add to his response. The question was “What was the lowest point of your life?” Kim had realised he had experienced many low points in his life and that the one point he wanted to emphasise to overcome this was learning resilience and always ensuring that people always have a safety zone to revert back to. This safety zone could include family, friends, hobbies and anything that makes a person happy. It was through hitting rock bottom that Kim was able to work out how to get through the tough times.
Overall we found the week to be a very enriching experience, and we learnt a lot about cultural awareness and cultural reflection.
The week was fun and educational and we felt as though we grew closer with all the other young leaders from the different organisations. We have made lifelong friends and have learnt many new leadership skills from inspiring people. We look forward to seeing the progress that every young leader makes next year.
Anglicare Victoria’s partners in the Indigenous Leadership Academy are the Australian National Academy of Music, the Darby McCarthy Indigenous Scholarship, Essendon Football Club, Federation University Australia, Opera Australia, Tennis Australia, and The Long Walk.
We’d also like to acknowledge the support of The Jack Brockhoff Foundation, The Newsboys Foundation and The Kimberley Foundation of the Academy.
