Edmund Rice Outreach

QUEST RETREAT

QUEST RETREAT GROUPS – CADRE BACK ROW: Roman Nicolaou, Ethan Ryan, Thomas Fry, Alexander Galante, Benedict Coates, Nicolas Miller MIDDLE ROW: Mr Daniel Bateman, James Henshall, Filipe Lagrenade, Ethan Roux, Reilly McClure, Dean LawYimWan, Mr Leo Murray FRONT ROW: Jamie Kinninmont, Luke Nardelli, Ben Kelly, Luca Crevacore, Alexander Nguyen, Benjamin Olivieri

KIMBERLEY IMMERSION

Immersion: The action of deep mental and physical involvement in something.

Mrs Marya Stewart

These are the words which 12 Trinity men and three staff members lived by for two and a half weeks. Leaving behind the petty issues of Perth and the small world in which we live and work every day, we were drawn into re-focussing our attention on a broad life-giving area of our own state, the Kimberley. We found it to be a place where time seems to slow and one finds themselves truly embracing every moment.

This ‘in the moment’ mindset was necessary to learn about the culture, people and land of this beautiful region. It allowed us to unlock new ideas regarding Aboriginal people, to break the stereotypes so often presented to us in Perth and to form new connections that will stay with us forever. It also gave us the opportunity to open our hearts, to truly understand the needs of the people and to respond to these needs through service.

In Week 8 of Term 2, we arrived in Broome to embark on the Kimberley Immersion. Nervous but excited, we settled into the Broome lifestyle quickly, meeting many of the locals who Mrs Marya Stewart had made previous connections with and getting involved immediately in the NAIDOC Opening Ceremony and the Feed the Little Children Program. We helped cook kilos of food, mainly curry or pasta and then distributed it later that evening in the suburbs of Broome to families in need.

After a few days we set out in three groups of four students and one teacher to spend time in remote communities spread out over hundreds of kilometres. Here we helped at the local schools and immersed ourselves in Indigenous culture. It didn’t take long before we formed strong relationships with the primary school students and staff.

ONE ARM POINT: REMOTE COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Alessio Cottino (11.7), Adam Ricci (11.8), Harrison Roberts (11.3), Lachlan Sibosado (11.7), Mrs Marya

Stewart

Arriving at One Arm Point, Bardi Jaawi country, which is the country of Lachlan’s people, we were instantly engaged in community life. We were greeted by the Middle School teacher and coordinator who invited us to join him and some of the students on a bike ride to visit fish traps not far from school. It didn’t take us long to fall behind the pack and when we reached the soft sand to cut down to the beach it became worse. We were soon falling all over the place and with three of us moving at the speed of Olympic walkers, it didn’t take long for us to become the local’s entertainment for the evening. Two kilometres later we left our bikes in the mangroves and walked along the beach, cut and bruised beside six unfamiliar faces, who were soon to become our best friends. Who would have thought that a classroom of young children would have such a big influence on our lives and, within a couple of days, seem like family?

From getting dominated by kids who were shorter than us 14-21 in basketball, to cooking together, fishing, watching movies, helping out in the classroom, sometimes with the simplest tasks like colouring in a flower, every moment was a joy. Nothing compares to seeing their smiles widen when they greeted us every morning. Leaving the community, we all reflected on how the school influenced us and hopefully, we had an influence on their community . Every single one of those kid’s faces will forever be remembered by us.