OTK Leadership Camp
Like so many others, our organisation was affected by the global COVID pandemic. However as always we were able to be fairly flexible and adaptable - one of the benefits of being a small volunteer run organisation. So 2020 instead of a large group leadership camp bringing kids out to the camp - a couple of our volunteers headed to Kowanyama and set up camp out bush and ferried small groups of kids back and forth spending time with them out bush. They were encouraged to enjoy the beauty of their home, reconnect with traditional bushcrafts, learn how to drive a boat and other great activities. Many a campfire chat was had about peer pressure, resilience, how to make the choices that make it possible to buy a boat to fish with, techology use, sticking it out at boarding school etc.
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MENTORING ( & TUTORING )BOARDING KIDS
We continued throughout 2020 to provide support to Kowanyama kids who are out at boarding school although again COVID made it a bit different. Our last boarders support weekend was in March - just before all the kids were sent home and their communities put into a biosecurity lockdown. This meant most of the students missed out on a couple of terms of school. Options in their home communities were limited. One of the senior high school boarders who is on a scholarship came to stay with our volunteers who board primary students at their parents' request. This meant he was able to continue his studies online and with home schooling by these volunteers.
In third and fourth term we were able to resume our boarding mentoring weekends and had several great weekends connecting with the kids who had come back to school.
Sticking it out at boarding school can be really tough for these remote kids and having a ‘family-like’ environment where they know people who know them and where they come from - to go to on weekends – can make a real difference.
We aim to provide as much mentoring support as possible, often working closely wth boarding schools. this can include career guidance, help with schoolwork, someone to talk to, and leadership development. so often we find that if it wasnt for that caring support many more of these kids would 'fall through the gaps'.