Opinion Articles

*Schoolies with a difference
By Robert Sheridan
Robert Sheridan is a Student Co-ordinator at St Francis Xavier's College, Hamilton.

One person I would love to meet is Bono, lead singer for U2. Here is a person who is using his wonderful talent in an attempt to restore humanity to our world. Bono makes me reflect on how effective I am in using my talent and potential to change the inequalities that exist today.

In 2005 I was blessed to witness a group of six year 12 students use their talent and potential in an attempt to restore humanity to their world. These six gave up their post-HSC ‘schoolies' experience to spend five weeks in East Timor . St Francis Xavier's College has links with East Timor through fundraising for the orphanage at Gleno and the Marist Brothers' teachers' college at Baucau – the only facility in East Timor that trains primary school teachers. The main purpose of the journey was an immersion and solidarity experience for the group. It also provided an opportunity for the students to teach English, renovate classrooms and work in a disabilities centre in Dili.

The first two weeks were spent at Centro Bakhita, a Community and Health Centre in the village of Eraulo , in the mountain district of Ermera. This district has 105,000 people, one four-bed hospital and no doctors. Roads are very poor and communication technology is limited. The Centre provides basic health care and education opportunities in the local and wider community.

Our students were shocked to see the conditions in the schools. They had just completed their secondary education in a school with a library, electricity in the classrooms, computer labs and textbooks. None of these exist in any schools in East Timor . Some classrooms had dirt floors, the blackboards were unusable and the rooms were in semi-darkness. Some schools had no toilets. Despite this, our East Timor friends place a high emphasis on education – some students walked for three hours daily to attend school. Conditions were only slightly better in Baucau and Dili.

What was extraordinary was the commitment of the year 12 students to something completely counter to the normal ‘schoolies' expectations. They have done their bit to restore humanity to the world. The experience and the friendships they gained have been life changing – all because they had the courage to make a difference. I am convinced that a ‘hands on' experience of a developing country is a great way to have an impact on young people.

The Newcastle community can be very proud of the way it supported the adventure. Equipment weighing 350 kilos was donated for us to take to East Timor , delivered to Dili by the RAAF. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a Hercules land at Dili airport and off-load the equipment. It was all new, and essential for effective education. purposes. We gave the lot to the Marist Brothers who distributed it amongst the schools in the Baucau diocese.

Well done Newcastle!

  *This article was published in The Newcastle Herald on 13th February 2006.