A group of Broulee students are flying the Eurobodalla flag in Far North Queensland as part of a 10-day mission trip with St Peter’s Anglican College.
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This year marks the 10th occasion the Broulee college has embarked on the trip to the Aboriginal shire of Kowanyama, in Queensland’s western Cape York.
Close to 20 students will work with children at Kowanyama State School, helping out in the classroom and running after-school activities.
For year 12 student Elizabeth Halsey, the 2017 trip is the third time she will lend a hand in the remote Indigenous community.
“They don’t have what we have,” Elizabeth said. “It’s a good opportunity to see their cultural differences and to appreciate how privileged we are.
“The students at Kowanyama know us as the ‘purple people from St Peter’s’, and when we’re there, their ears perk up and they just listen.”
Elizabeth said education options for students in the shire were limited, with no local schooling available for students after year 8.
She said the trip was important in breaking down barriers between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, as students often felt more comfortable relating to adolescents their own age.
Many students raised funds for the mission by working casual jobs after school in the year leading up to the trip.
