A video was released online to celebrate the Opening the Doors Foundation milestone, and includes Yorta Yorta elder Aunty Vicki Walker sharing how 10 Indigenous students were supported to attend St Joseph’s College.
“All of those students ended up going to VCE level and (10 or 15 years down the track) they’re doing all sorts of different things; we have doctors, psychologists, chefs, childcare workers — leaders in our community,” she said.
“I honestly believe some of that comes from them being able to access a Catholic education through Opening the Doors Foundation.
“It’s about mixing in, and not being left out . . . about having everything they needed to get where they wanted to go. It was also about lightening the financial load at home, where there were real struggles for families, but they knew that the kids were going to be okay.
“That’s why we have all these fabulous leaders in that age group today. I couldn’t be prouder.”
The foundation was established by Wemba Wamba Mutthi Mutthi woman Vicki Clark, Melissa Brickell, Carol Messer and John Arthur, with an objective to give First Nations families access to education options that may not have been feasible otherwise.
The video also heard from Wemba Wamba, Yorta Yorta and Mutthi Mutthi woman Jedda Costa.
Now an ABC journalist, Ms Costa was supported by the foundation through her schooling and into her future as a graduate of RMIT with a Bachelor of Communications and Journalism degree.
“I was raised by a strong, black, single mother in a very busy household, and we really did struggle at times,” she said.
“The prospect of even attending a private school can sound so out of reach for our mob. The foundation helped relieve those financial stresses for my mum . . . it really did, quite literally, open up doors for me.
“Now, I’m the first person in my family to finish school and go on to university, and I’m a reporter at the national broadcaster.”
The foundation has provided education resources and support to more than 3000 students and their families, with in excess of 10,000 grants totalling more than $6 million.
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